Laws and Rules That Govern Internet Safety

Ashley Martin

Children’s Internet Protection Act• Also known as CIPA• Federal law enacted by Congress to

address concerns about access to offensive content over the Internet on school and library computers

• Imposes certain types of requirements on any school or library that receives funding for Internet access or internal connections from the E-rate program – a program that makes certain communications technology more affordable for eligible schools and libraries.

What CIPA Requires

• Schools and libraries subject to CIPA may not receive the discounts offered by the E-rate program unless they certify that they have an Internet safety policy that includes technology protection measures

• Schools subject to CIPA are required to adopt and enforce a policy to monitor online activities of minors

National Conference of State Legislators:PA Law: 24 P.S. 4604 - 4612

• Requires school boards and publicly-funded libraries to adopt and enforce acceptable use policies for Internet access that include the (1) use of software programs reasonably designed to block access to visual depictions of obscenity, child pornography or material that is harmful to minors; or (2) selection of online servers that block access to visual depictions of obscenity, child pornography or material that is harmful to minors.

Student Internet Safety Act of 2009• The act promotes the safe use of the

Internet by students through the development of educational programs. These programs are aimed at protecting students from predators, bullies and exposure to objectionable material. They will also get parents involved in the way their children use the Internet

Problems Implementing These Solutions

• Filtering programs are costly •Parents are too trusting in the filtering programs and fail to monitor their children’s internet usage

•Websites that are not filtered might contain downloads harboring malware designed to catch passwords or infect the account with bots designed to distribute spam

What Can I Do?

Issues Concerning Internet Safety• Revealing too much personal information• Social Networking• Pop-ups• Cyberbullying• Sexting

Revealing too much information

• Students have a tendency to post personal information such as addresses, phone numbers, and pictures

• Online predators may use this information

Social Networking• Causes drama in and out of school

• Students may friend individuals they do not know personally

Pop-ups• Younger students may not know that they shouldn’t click

on pop-ups

• These pop-ups can lead to inappropriate site, or introduce viruses that steal personal information

Cyberbullying• Since it is online, students cannot escape it

Sexting• Students are sending inappropriate/explicit messages

and pictures to each other, not just through their phones but email and social networking sites

• Once it’s out there, you can’t take it back

Digital Citizenship• Honest

• Cheating/ Plagiarism- don’t do it!

• Respectful• Of others and yourself

• Responsible• For actions/comments

• Trustworthy• Of appropriate individuals- only those you know

personally• Caring

• Of others feelings and beliefs