Relevant

With offices in Washington DC, The Family Online Safety Institute has been at the heart of the child safety debate in the United States for over a decade. Its membership includes some of the world's largest and most innovative corporations of the Internet age. Together with leaders in government, industry and the non-profit sectors we collaborate and seek to find innovate new solutions in child safety in an increasingly Web 2.0 world.

FOSI promotes dialogue on child protection and actively engages with those that seek to make the Internet a safer place. Take a look at Stephen Balkam fascinating interview with FCC Commissioner Adelstein. Go the FOSI's own YouTube Channel to Learn More

Policy Initiatives

PointSmart.Click Safe: Task Force Recommendations for best practice for online safety

In June 2008 a diverse group of representatives from technology companies, child advocacy and parents' groups, educators, health researchers and policymakers gathered in Washington, DC to begin work on a set of recommendations for best practices that participants in the Internet industry could adopt to help keep children safe and smart when online. The result of the year-long effort is the report PointSmart.ClickSafe: Task Force Recommendations for Best Practices for Online Safety and Literacy. The Family Online Safety Institute played a key role in crafting the final resport. Learn more

FOSI Representative: Stephen Balkam

FOSI Comments on FCC’s Notice of Inquiry on Parental Control Technologies

On April 16, 2009, FOSI filed comments (see PDF link below) with the FCC in response to a Notice of Inquiry issued on the existence, availability and use of parental control tools and initiatives. FOSI’s comments highlight the various tools and initiatives available in the United States today to keep kids safe online.

View PDF of these comments

Making Wise Choices Online Report

In 2008 the Family Online Safety Institute took the initiative to examine the current state of online safety education by holding three roundtable discussions with leaders in the field. Members of industry, government and nonprofit organizations came together to discuss the underlying trends and emerging issues with online safety and developed proposals on how to solve them. The roundtables were held at the National Cable Television (NCTA) in Washington, D.C., the Oxford Internet Institute in England and at Google’s Mountain View campus. Based on these off-the-record conversations held at each roundtable, with governments leaders, industry experts, academics and online safety experts, FOSI has put together this report and recommendations to the next U.S. Administration.

Download the Making Wise Choices Online Report

Internet Safety Technical Taskforce (ISTTF)

The Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF) is a group of Internet businesses, non-profit organizations, academics, and technology companies that have joined together to identify effective tools and technologies to create a safer environment on the Internet for youth. It was created in February 2008 in accordance with the "Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Safety" announced by the Attorneys General Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking and MySpace in January 2008. The Task Force submitted its Final Report to the Attorneys General in December, 2008. To download theFinal Reportgo to: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/isttf

A key component and input to the task force came fromhe Research Advisory Board (RAB). This comprised of scholars and researchers whose research addresses children’s online safety. The RAB was constructed to help the Task Force develop a rich understanding of what is currently known about online safety issues with respect to youth. Members of the RAB were selected based on their longstanding, ongoing, and original contributions to this field of research. All members of the RAB are U.S.-based and do research with U.S. populations, although they consulted with scholars from outside of the U.S. as well. The RABwas chaired by danah boyd, one of the Task Force's co-directors and a scholar in this area. To learn more go to: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/isttf/RAB

FOSI Representative: Stephen Balkam