Advice on Child Internet Safety 1.0: Universal Guidelines for Providers

"[W]hile young people's 'offline' and 'online' worlds are often merging, the behaviours and safeguards of the 'real' world are not always applied in a 'virtual' world where friends can be added at the click of button and information shared in an instant."

This document - compiled by members of the United Kingdom (UK) Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) - is designed to help providers who care for children ensure that they use the internet safely. It is based on messages which have been developed in line with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP)'s Think U Know programme which, in 2011, was accessed by children more than 2 million times.

Providers are told here that: "Although many children are taught some aspects of internet safety in school, you too can play an important part in helping to safeguard young people online. By offering clear, prominent and accessible advice - and by integrating this advice throughout your service, particularly at the point of provision - you will help ensure that children and young people can safely get the most from the services you offer."

The behaviours recommended here are safe behaviours that children and parents can use to mitigate or respond to risks. The advice is presented in 6 sections which reflect different services provided online that are used by children: chatting, sharing, gaming, content providing, networking, and shopping and commerce.

Some advice provided in the "chatting" section for parents and caregivers includes:

• "Talk to your child about who they're talking to online and encourage them to think before talking to people they don't know in person
• Try to understand and guide your child's online behaviour - negotiate and establish boundaries and discuss sensitively the issues around the concept of 'friends'
• Familiarise yourself with the chat programme your child uses. Find out more about its built-in safety functions and how they can be contacted within the service
• Ask your child if they know how to block someone who they don't want to talk to anymore. If they don't, help them to learn how to use the blocking feature
• Use parental control software provided by your internet service provider, mobile phone network, online content provider or games console and consider using filtering options, monitoring and setting time limits for access to chat
• If you discover misconduct between your child and someone online stay calm, investigate the facts and seek expert help if needed
• As part of a wider discussion about sex and relationships cover how people may use the internet to explore their sexuality, which may include sexual chatting."

"Whichever way you decide to use the safety messages [included in this resource], it is important that they are placed in a prominent position and presented in an engaging way. Ofcom research shows that parents and children can be unconcerned about aspects of internet use and may not be actively seeking information about it."