Protecting Children Online: Risks, Laws, and Safety Strategies

Introduction and Background

Throughout history, children have always been at risk of exploitation by adults, varying only in degree. An unfortunate but natural consequence of the increase in children's use of online resources has been a corresponding increase in the targeting of young people by commercial enterprises that exploit their innocence and lack of guile — soliciting personal information that is then used for targeted marketing purposes. More alarming, however, has been the use of online forums such as MySpace to lure young people into online and offline encounters that may endanger their safety and lives. Federal and state governments have been trying to achieve a careful balance of laws to protect underage consumers from exploitation by online businesses while recognizing the fundamental constitutional rights of commercial enterprises and consumers, but this balance has proven especially difficult to achieve. Moreover, the increasing popularity and sophistication of Internet-accessible devices — such as laptops and, especially, cellular phones — has provided entirely new avenues for young people to access online resources, and for adults seeking to attract underage victims to access them in turn. The availability of ring tones that adults cannot hear but teenagers can is reflective of the "us versus them" mentality emerging in technological applications today. The purpose of this study is to identify what can be done to help policymakers and educators address these concerns in the classroom and in the home.

This study proposes to use a five-chapter format to answer the central research question: to what extent are educational leaders, teachers, and parents aware of potential risks to children during unprotected and unsupervised access to the Internet? A heightened awareness of potential predator risks to children while accessing the Internet unsupervised and unprotected is a vulnerability that will become a measurable reality through further investigation of the issue. The study employs a phenomenological approach to identify the potential risks and their consequences, providing substantial significance and heightened sensitivity to the issues addressed. These goals will be accomplished by emphasizing a focus on the subjective experiences and understanding of administrators, educators, librarians, and parents, using a modified Delphi technique that allows respondents to participate in an iterative, online questionnaire-completion process.

As more and more young people become expert with computers and online interfaces, their vulnerability to exploitation by adult predators also increases. In this regard, Campbell, Calvert, and Boswell (2003) stated that "as personal and business-critical applications become more prevalent on the Internet, network-based applications and services can pose security risks to all attention resources." According to Festinger (1997), one danger of the Internet is that people can be disguised: "People avoid information that is likely to increase dissonance. Not only do we tend to select reading material and television programs that are consistent with our existing beliefs — we usually choose to be with people who are like us." Unfortunately, the Internet can disguise people with a different set of opinions or moral values. As Festinger asserted, there is no assurance about the identity of individuals that family members are communicating with while online. Therefore, it is imperative that responsible adults implement security features — such as properly installed hardware and software — into every home computer environment, ensuring the safest computing environment possible. According to Elder and Paul, "skilled critical thinking is to be able to take one's thinking apart systematically, to analyze each part, assess it for quality and then improve it" (2002). Developing a strategy for Internet use will require such skilled critical thinking in order to conduct the kind of analysis that leads to necessary safety measures (Campbell et al., 2003).

During the 1980s and 1990s, in the early days of Internet use, only government officials and scientists had to worry about securing data from intrusion, modification, or destruction. Now, with desktops or laptops in virtually every home, and with the increased reliance on the Internet for information and communication, not only is personal information at risk, but the safety of families has come into play due to online predators. Because of this dangerous trend, the average administrator, teacher, and parent trying to provide the latest technology in a secure mode needs a guide on how to manage Internet access.

Children fall prey to online predators at an increasing rate. In a 1998 survey, Parry surveyed 10,800 teenage girls, of whom 12% admitted to meeting strangers offline. Additionally, in 2000, Family PC reported that 24% of girls surveyed and 14% of boys polled had met strangers on the Internet — and had also met these individuals offline. During a recent visit to a small Midwest community, three children admitted involvement with Internet predators, leading to the torture and rape of one of the children (Wire Safety, n.d.). According to Shields (2003), "In this porous and mixed material/virtual world of the home, parents worry that children and teens will be targets for online predators, paedophiles and online marketing scams at home. Columnists and how-to authors warn parents to limit their children's online time, double-check their email for pornography and debate whether or not face-to-face meetings with others met online should be allowed" (pp. 98–99).

Furthermore, the initiatives to date have failed to measure up to the need. For example, the well-meaning but misguided Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006 (DOPA), introduced by Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick, would have required any school or library receiving government funding to block access to any website that "allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users, and offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, e-mail, or instant messenger" (quoted in Fletcher, 2006, p. 24). The bill would also have made these sites available only to people aged 18 years and older (Fletcher, 2006). Although the legislation's intent — to keep online predators from contacting children through social networking sites such as MySpace — is admirable, attempting to prohibit the use of these phenomenally popular sites is like using a $200,000 smart bomb to destroy a $10 tent (Fletcher, 2006).

In reality, the core problem is that no widely accepted safety recommendations and guidelines, developed by experts in the field and applicable across home, school, and office environments, are available to ensure the safety of children and adolescents. Consequently, the safety of children continues to be at risk as more people gain daily access to the Internet. There is a need to develop a qualitative study that will explore the perceptions of experts on how to protect children and adolescents from online predators. This qualitative study will use a modified Delphi approach to explore the perceptions of area school district educators, administrators, librarians, and sample parents through interviews and surveys, with the aim of developing a set of unified and consistent recommendations for online safety for children and adolescents.

The purpose of this dissertation is to provide recommendations from experienced practitioners — detailed, hands-on guides that even the computer-illiterate parent or senior caregiver can use to set up a home computer in the most secure mode available. Research areas will include various information systems security sites and discussions with technical personnel proficient in the security of hardware, software, and network technology. These sources will support a Delphi study designed to develop safety recommendations for using computers in home environments where minors are present.

The results of the study will contain a systematic instructional guide — a tool one can use to establish a computer system in as secure a mode as possible. The dissertation will also include a detailed listing of available security hardware and application software with installation details. A Delphi study engaging administrators, educators, librarians, and parents who are expert in computer use and safety measures will provide an enhanced understanding of a growing problem that has developed into a potential threat to the safety of the nation's youth. Findings resulting from the Delphi study will provide a framework and heighten awareness, equipping responsible adults with the tools required to minimize potential Internet predator risks.

According to Linstone and Turoff (2002), "Delphi may be characterized as a method for structuring a group communication process so that the process is effective in allowing a group of individuals, as a whole, to deal with a complex problem" (p. 5). Given this explanation, the goal of the research results is to provide valuable information that educators and parents can utilize while providing Internet access for students. Technology is a way of life that students today must continue to understand and use as a research tool to learn more about our world.

To grasp a better understanding of the technological knowledge of students, educators, and parents, it is essential to implement a process through which one can obtain insight into the technological skills of students. According to Lang (n.d.):

The Conventional Delphi has two main functions — forecasting and estimating unknown parameters — and is typical of Delphi as it was originally conceived. It is used to determine consensus on forecasting dates and developments in many areas, particularly in the area of long-term change in the fields of science and technology. The Policy Delphi, on the other hand, does not aim for consensus but seeks to generate the strongest possible opposing views on the resolution of an issue and to present as many opinions as possible. The objective is for it to act as a forum for ideas and to expose the range of positions advocated and the pros and cons of each position (Bjil, 1992). Finally, the Decision Delphi is utilized to reach decisions among a diverse group of people with different investments in the solution. (p. 3)

The conceptual framework used for this study is an exploratory approach. According to Atkinson (1995), an "exploratory methodology is designed to uncover aspects of data that should generate questions" (p. 77). Furthermore, Thomas (1998) emphasizes that an exploratory research methodology may yield serendipitous findings: "Some studies qualify as exploratory investigations because the researchers are guided only by very general questions rather than by specific hypotheses to test or precise questions to answer. As a consequence, interpretations of exploratory studies often include unanticipated conclusions" (p. 268).

The research questions guiding this study are as follows: What concerns do computer-aware parents and teachers have about child safety on the Internet? Do computer-aware parents and teachers currently apply strategies and make adaptations to improve safety for children online? What suggestions can computer-aware teachers and parents make about improving child safety online? Do computer-aware parents and teachers recommend any changes in the way children use the Internet in schools and at home? How do computer-aware parents and teachers envision the future use of the Internet by children in the home and at school?

For the purposes of this study, it will be assumed that all children of eligible age will be enrolled in a school appropriate for their age and learning level; it will also be assumed that these students have some level of access to the Internet, and that some of this access will not be entirely supervised by adults. Although the general scope of this study extends to predation of children online in the United States and other countries, the primary focus remains on the U.S.