FOSI Panel: Protecting Online Reputations in a Sexting Cyberspace
On May 13th, Safe Internet went to the Family Online Safety Institute’s (FOSI) panel discussion on sexting and cyberspace, part of a monthly series of discussions hosted by FOSI on Capitol Hill covering a range of internet safety topics.
The panel seemed particularly timely due to the recent flurry of news stories about teens and sexting.
Panelist Monique Roth from the Department of Justice made the point that, “…Prevention and education is incredibly important [in regards to sexting], but once we reach the point of prosecution, it means that we have failed in education.”
Stephen Balkam, CEO of FOSI and moderator of the Wednesday discussion, said that there really are three types of online safety that youth and parents should be aware of and concerned about: physical, psychological, and reputational safety.
These two excellent points relate to the importance of efforts like those of the Meadville, Pennsylvania police in a story published by The Meadville Tribune. In order to prevent sexting among teens and ultimately the charges of distributing child pornography that can be brought against them, the Meadville police are conducting seminars to educate parents.
These types of local initiatives, often pioneered by law enforcement and schools, are cropping up all over the nation. They may eventually be aided by a new bill, introduced last week by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), that would provide up to $175 million over five years to identify the best Internet safety programs for children, and provide competitive grants to non-profit groups and schools to spread the word.