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Title:ParentZoneresponsetotheInternetSafetyStrategy1)IntroductionParentZonespecialisesinprovidingsupporttoparentsandfamiliesrespondingtothechallengesofadigitalage.WearethelargestdedicatedInternetsafetyorganisationintheUKandtheonlydigitalparentingorganisation.OurmissionistomaketheInternetworkforfamilies.Wereachover5millionfamiliesayearthroughourvariousprogrammesincluding:www.parentinfo.orgourfreenationalnewsfeedserviceforschoolsdeliveredinpartnershipwiththeCEOPcommandoftheNationalCrimeAgency.ParentInfoprovidesinformationtoparentsonalloftheissuescausedoramplifiedbytheInternet.FromGamblingtoSelf-Harm,CyberbullyingtoCyberCrime.DigitalParentingmagazineinpartnershipwithVodafoneprovidingaphysicalmagazinetofamilieshandedtothembyprofessionalstheytrust.Thisyearwewillbesending2millioncopiesofthemagazinetoschools,policeforcesandsocialworkers.Themagazineisonlysentbyrequest–schoolsandprofessionalsorderasmanycopiesastheyneed.Todate,ithasreachedover5millionfamilies.ParentLoungeouronlinespacewhereparentscompleteourdigitalparentingprogrammeandaccessourparentingexpertsdeliveringsupportviaourLiveChatservice.Theloungehasover1000visitsadaywithover50,000parentstakingouronlineParentinginTheDigitalAgeparentingprogrammeinthelastyear.TheprogrammeistheonlydigitalparentingprogrammeavailableintheUKandiscurrentlybeingadaptedforuseinRomania,India,Finland,Norway,Pakistan,MyanmarandBangladeshfundedbyTelenor,thenationaltelecomscompanyinNorway.DoveSelfEsteemProgrammeinpartnershipwithUnileverthisprogrammehelpsparentstoplaytheirpartinimprovinggirls’self-esteem.DigitalLifeSkills,inpartnershipwithVodafoneGlobaldeliveringparentsessionsdesignedtohelpparentsbuildchildren’sdigitalliteracyandlifeskills.Theprogrammewillbedeliveredin9countriesincludingtheUK.ResilientFamiliesProgrammefundedbytheHomeOfficedeliveringpupil,parentandprofessionaltrainingonthesubjectofonlineradicalisationandextremism.Theprogrammeincludesonlineandface-to-facetrainingandhasreachedover70,000familiessinceitslaunchin2016.

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InternetLegendsinpartnershipwithGoogle,deliveringInternetsafetyassembliestoprimaryschoolchildreninEnglandandWales.Theprogrammeisbeingscaledtoreachmoreschoolsandfamiliesin2018.DigitalSchoolsworkingwithschoolsthroughouttheUKtoprovideacompletedigitalresiliencebasededucationincludingonlinesafetylessons,parentfacingsupportincludingonlinedigitalparentingcoursesandtrainingforteachersandsupportstaff.DigitalFamiliesEventsourannualprogrammeofeventsincludinganInternetsafetyconferenceinpartnershipwithCEOPandtheScottishgovernment’sInternetsafetysummit.Finally,weconductresearchwithparents,childrenandprofessionalsincluding:Howarewedoing?Quantitativeresearchwithchildrentoaskthemhowtheythinkthefirstgenerationofdigitalparentsisdoing.ThePerfectGeneration.Researchwithchildrenandteacherstobetterunderstandtheimpactofsocialmediaonyoungpeople’smentalhealth.TheDigitalFamily.AnexplorationofthewaysinwhichtheInternetisimpactingonfamilylifeingeneralandparentinginparticular.OrdinaryMagic.AreportonDigitalResilienceaskinghowwecandevelopitandhowdoingsowillkeepchildrensaferonline.

OurresponseOurresponsereflectstheconcernsparents’highlighttousandcoverstheareasinwhichwehavespecificknowledgeandexpertise.Wehavegroupedouranswerstorespondtothequestionsintheconsultation–insomeinstanceswehaverespondedtomorethanonequestioninananswer.SupportingparentsandcarersIn2003,ParentZoneconductedresearchwithparentstofindouthowreadytheywerefortheimpactofmobiletechnologyincludingan‘accessibleanywhere’Internet.SmartphoneswereathingofthefutureandthelaunchoftheiPhonewasstillfouryearsaway.Wefoundthatparentswerewhollyunpreparedforwhatlayahead.

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14yearslater,wewitnessfirsthandtheimpactoftechnologyonfamilylife.OurworkwithfamiliesonissuesthatareeithercausedoramplifiedbytheInternetincludesnumerousprojects,face-to-faceinterventionsandasupportservice.Wehaveseenanexplosionintheprovisionofinformationforparentsandcarersandyetweseesignsthatparentsarestrugglingtoprovideeffectivedigitalparenting.AccordingtoOfcom32%ofparents1finditdifficulttomanagetheirchild’sscreentime.InourDigitalFamily2report,49%ofparentssaidtheinternethadforcedthemtohaveconversationswiththeirchildrentheywouldn’totherwisehavehadand55%saiditmadeitmoredifficultforthemtosetboundariesfortheirchildren.Sharenting3hasbecomethenormwiththeaverage5yearoldhaving1500photographsofthempostedonlinebytheirparents.Perhapsmoreworryingly,inourlatestsurvey,asmallbutgrowingnumberofparentssaidtheirreasonsforsharingimagesoftheirchildonlinewerecommercial.Parentsareshowinggrowinglevelsofconcern–usuallyfollowinghighprofilemediacoverageofspecificissueslikecyberbullying–butfarlowerlevelsofconfidentdigitalparenting.Thismustbeacauseforconcerngiventhatresearchconsistentlyshowsthateffectiveparentingiskeytobuildingchildren’sdigitalresilience4andimprovingoutcomesforchildren.Parentingisouropportunitynotjusttopreventharmsandincreasesafety,butalsotoincreaseopportunity.Thechallengethereforeistounderstandhowwecansupporteffectivedigitalparentingforallchildren.Thereneedstobetwostrandstothiswork.Firstly,wemustcontinuetoprovideinformationtoparentsabouttechnology,thedigitalenvironmentandInternetsafetygenerally.Thisshouldbeavailablewheneverandwhereverparentsneeditincludingonservicesthemselves,atthepointofpurchase,inschoolsandthroughspecialistprovision.Parentsneedandwelcomechoiceandareunlikelytowelcomeorevenadoptasinglesourceofinformation.However,itisessentialthattheinformationavailabletothemisevidencebasedandconsistent.Consistencyofmessagingiskeyasismakingsurethattheinformationsupportseffectivedigitalparentingandresilienceratherthanencouraginglesseffectiveparentingtechniques.Thecurrentwildwestofinformationisunhelpfuland

1https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/108182/children-parents-media-use-attitudes-2017.pdf2https://parentzone.org.uk/article/digital-family-geraldine-bedell3https://parentzone.org.uk/article/average-parent-shares-almost-1500-images-their-child-online-their-5th-birthday4https://parentzone.org.uk/article/building-childrens-online-resilience

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confusing.Weshouldmovetoamodelthatisclosertothefoodindustrywheremanufacturers,retailersandproducerssupplyconsistentinformationaugmentedbyanentireecosystemofinformationfromTVfoodprogrammesandcookerywriterstoschoollessonsandhealthyeatingcampaigns.Secondly,weneedtorecognisethatnotallparentsarefindingiteasytoadapttoparentinginadigitalage.Unsurprisinggivenwelearnhowtoparentfromourownexperienceofgrowingupandprevailingsocialnorms.Thisgenerationhasnosuchroadmapandwhilstsomeparentsareabletotaketheirofflineparentingonlinewithminimalsupport,manyothersarefindingitdifficulttoseteffectivedigitalboundaries,toprovidetheirchildrenwiththerightlevelofonlinesupervisionandtofindthebestwaytohavethedifficultconversationswithchildrenthataresoimportantinadigitalworld.Supportingthesefamiliesshouldbeaprioritybecausewithoutsupportthesefamiliesrisksignificantonlineharmincludingtheriskofradicalisationandextremismandtheriskofmissingtheopportunitiesthedigitalworldhastooffer.ParentZonerecommends:

• Anationaldigitalparentinginstitutecreatedtoqualitycontroladvicetoparentsandtorolloutdigitalparentingcoursesonlineandofflineavailablefreetoanyparentthatwantsorneedsthemthroughschools,localauthoritiesandonline.Theinstitutewoulddriveupstandardsinprovisionandprovideanationalfocusforadvice.Ratherthancentralizetheprovisionofadvice,itwouldqualityassureitandagreemessagingforindustryschoolsandotherproviders.Providerswouldbeencouragedtocontinuetodevelopresourceswiththeassurancethatthemessagingwascorrectandeffective.

• Anationaldigitalparentinghelpserviceforparentsexperiencingproblemswiththeirchild’suseoftechnologyorassociatedproblemswiththeirchild’slifeonline.Notonlywouldtheserviceprovidepracticalassistancetoparentsitwouldenableustomonitorthevolumeofparentalconcernsandissues.Thisinturnwouldimproveandtargettheprovisionofinformationandexposeservicesthatwerenotdeliveringsafeservicesforchildren.Itisentirelywrongthatparentsaretheonlygroupwithoutreadyaccesstosupportinthisdifficultspace.

• Anationalfocusontrainingforprofessionalsincludingdigitalparentingtraining.WehaveanopportunitytodeliverastepchangeinsupporttoparentsifweconsiderparentsintheprovisionofstatutoryPSHE.ByrecognizingthatparentsneedinformationalongsidetheirchildrenandtrainingPSHEteacherstoworkwellwithparentswecoulddeliverrapidandsignificantchange.Theinfrastructuretodeliversupporttoparentsalongside

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statutoryPSHEalreadyexistswithParentInfo.Buildingonthissuccessfulnationalresourcewoulddelivermajorimprovements.

Wehavemadepositivemovesforwardininformationtoparents.Ourtasknowistoimprovetheconsistency,reliabilityandthereforetrustintheinformation.Weneedtodriveaculturechangetoensurethatallparentsaredeliveringeffectivedigitalparentingincludingsafetymessagessothatnochildfallsbehind.SocialmediacodeofpracticeWeareconcernedthatanyvoluntarycodeofpracticeisunlikelytodeliverthenecessaryimprovementtoservices.Wewouldliketoseeaclearsetofsafetystandardslegallyenforceableandcommunicatedtoparents,familiesandprofessionals.Anycodethatisvoluntarywillresultinpatchyexecutionatbest–atworstitwillresultinsomeservicesignoringthecodealtogetherleavingparentsnonethewiseraboutthesafetystandardstheycanrelyonintheservicestheirchildrenareusing.Forachildtodevelopdigitalresilience5theyneedtobeabletoexploreandexperienceonlinespacesthatareageappropriateandhaveappropriatesafetystandards.Whilstclearlynoservicecanberiskfree–norwouldthatbedesirable–itisvitalthatserviceshaveadequatesafetymeasuresinplacesothatparentscanallowtheirchildrentoexploreandmakeinformeddecisionsabouttheironlineenvironment.AnonymityWerecognisethechallengesthatcomewithanonymity.However,wealsorecognisetheimmensevalueusersfindinbeingabletoaccesshelpandsupportwithoutrevealingtheiridentity.Childrenandyoungpeopleparticularlybenefitfromthisopportunityandthereforeitisnotsomethingwewouldwanttoforfeit.However,ensuringuserscanbeidentifiedbylawenforcementisessential.

Whichsitesshouldbecovered?

Weregarditascriticalthatallsitesareincludedinthecodeofpractice.Toexcludeanywouldriskcreatingloopholesforlessscrupulousservicestoexploit.

Transparencyreportingforsocialmediacompanies.

5UKCCISDigitalResilienceWorkingGroupReport

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Thisrecommendationhasthepotentialtobeagamechanger.Forparentsmakingdecisionsaboutwhichservicestheirchildrenshouldbeallowedtouse,whichservicesrequireadditionalsupervisionandwhicharenotsuitableforchildrenthis

wouldbetransformativeinformation.Sitesshouldprovideclearandvisibleinformationonmoderationpoliciesincludinghowmanymoderatorsareontheserviceandduringwhichhours,howmanyreportstheyreceiveandwhatactionsresult.Thisinformationwouldalsoservetodeteruserstemptedtobreaktermsandconditions.

WewouldhighlightthatinJuly2013theIWFpublishedareportthatcouldhavenamedtheservicesthatwerebeingusedbychildrentocreateself-generatednakedimages.Theychosenottonametheservicesbecauseoftheirfundingmodel,Thislackoftransparencymeantthatanopportunitytoalertparentstotherisksoflivestreamingwasmissed.Thiscannotberight.Ithighlightstheopportunitytothinkcreativelyaboutthegatekeeperstotransparencybeyondtheservicesthemselves.

Whoshouldthecodeapplyto?

Allsocialmediacompaniesshouldmeetthesamestandards.Giventhataround1in3Internetusersisachild,wemustensurethateveryonlineenvironmentconsiderstheirneeds.However,thisrecommendationwouldnotsimplyimprovelifeonlineforchildren.EveryInternetuserwouldbenefitincludingvulnerableolderusersandadultswithadditionalneeds.ThisalignswiththeimportantdecisiontoextendthefocusofUKCISStoincludeallInternetusers,amovewesupport.

Asocialmedialevy

AsocialmedialevycouldbeaneffectivewaytotargetcompaniesthatarenotmakingacontributiontoInternetsafety.Wewouldrecommendasimilarmodeltothecarbonoffsettingmodelratherthantheblunterandlessflexiblevoluntarygamblingmodel.ThiswouldencouragecompaniestodeliverInternetsafetyinthecontextoftheirownserviceandanythatwerenotabletodemonstrateeffectivepracticecouldberequiredtopayacentrallevy.ThiswouldencourageinitiativeslikeInternetLegendsfromGoogleandDigitalParentingformVodafonebothofwhichbenefitfromtheinputofmarketingteamswithinthosecompaniesandadesiretoshowmarketleadership.CompaniescouldberequiredtoproduceasafetyreportincludingdetailsofactivityandinvestmentinInternetSafetywithatargetsetfor%ofprofitsorturnovertobeinvestedinInternetsafety.Itwouldalsoallowforflexibilityofinvestmentfromcompaniesthatreportedsignificantsafetyproblemsthroughtransparencyreporting.Thelargeryourdigitalharmfootprint,thehigher%investmentinsafetycouldberequired.

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Finally,anoffsettingmodelwouldallowforimportantflexibilitygiventhatdifferentinitiativesarelikelytoberequiredatdifferenttimesasnewservicesandtechnologyemerge.Differentplayersintheecosystemwouldhavedifferentcontributionstomake.Thegamingindustry,forexample,couldmakeadifferentcontributiontotheconnectedtoysindustrybasedontheirmarketandproductknowledge.AnexpectationthatInternetSafetyinformationispartofthecostofdoingbusinesswoulddeliverchangewhilstrecognisingthatthisspaceevolvesrapidlyofteninunexpectedways.Peer-to-PeerSupportThemodeloftheInternetispeertopeer.Whilstthereareexcellentorganisationsdeliveringpeertopeersupport–TheMixandDitchtheLabel–wewouldquestionthevalueofserviceslikeFacebookcreatingfurtherpeertopeeractivitywhenclearlytheproblemstheirplatformfacilitatesareoftencausedbypeertopeeractivity.Theyshouldbepressedtofindeffectivewaystomoderatetheproblemsofpeer-to-peerinteractionsnotcreateofflineversionsthatlackanevidencebase.

Wewouldencouragefurtherworktobetterunderstandthevalueandimpactofpeertopeerbeforeinvestinginexpansion.WewouldrecommendexperiencedpeersupportorganisationslikeTheMixandDitchtheLabelbeaskedtotakealeadinmodellingwhatmightbeeffectiveinordertocreaterobustinterventionsthatwillavoidfurtherharmtovulnerableyoungpeople.Thisisparticularlycrucialifwearetodevelopeffectiveresponsestocyberbullyinganissueaboutwhichagreatdealofactivityhastakenplacewithoutarobustevidencebase.6Developingchildren’sdigitalliteracyWesupportanyeffortstoincreasechildren’sdigitalliteracy.Deliveringthisisataskforschools,parentsandindustry.Clearerlabellingofcommercialactivityonsites,childfriendlytermsandconditionsandrobusteducationprogrammeswouldallhelp.However,itisimportanttoensurethatchildrenarenotexpectedtoacquireskillsthataresimplynotageanddevelopmentallyappropriate7.DigitalResilience,recoveryandharmsthatshouldnotbeignored.ParentZoneco-chairstheUKCCISDigitalResilienceWorkingGroup.IndefiningDigitalresilienceweidentifiedtheneedforyoungpeopletounderstandwhentheywereatriskonline,toknowwhattodotogethelpandtobeabletorecoverwhen6https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/96965334/experts-admit-theyre-stuck-on-cyberbullying7DigitalChildhoodreport,BaronessBeebanKidron,DrAngharahRudkinUniversityofSouthampton.

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thingsgowrong.Throughthisprocessyoungpeoplecandevelopdigitalresilience,whichultimatelyhelpsthemtoflourishonline.WehaveanopportunitytoreshapeeducationabouttheInternetforyoungpeopleusingaresilienceframeworkandwouldurgegovernmenttoconsiderhowtoachievethisalongsidediscussionsaboutstatutoryPSHE.EmpoweringtheDigitalResilienceworkinggrouptotakealeadonanewapproachtoInternetsafetyeducationwouldbeaneffectivefirststepgiventhegroups’broadbaseofsupportanddiverseinputfromhealth,lawenforcement,education,youthandchildren’sorganisations,parentingandindustry.ResilienceprovidesamodelforpositiveengagementwiththeInternetmovingusawayfrom‘safety’or‘opportunity’tosomethingthatrecognisestheneedtobuilddigitalskillsanddigitalconfidence.Finally,wenotethatthegreenpapermakesnoreferencetospecificharmslikeonlinegambling.Whilstwerecognisethatthisisoutofscopeofthegreenpaperwewouldhighlighttheneedforemergingharmstobemappedandprevented.Thegamblingindustryischangingtotakeadvantageofthedigitalenvironmentwith,forexample,skingamblingandlootboxes.WewouldrecommendthatUKCCIStakealeadinmappingemergingrisksandmakingrecommendationstomitigatethem.