Bob R/CA - I'm honored
to introduce Parry Aftab, Esq., our speaker tonight. Ms. Aftab is a cyberspace
lawyer and a recognized leader in the field of Internet law and electronic
commerce and business. She is a frequent contributor to major business
and legal publications, has appeared on many news and talk shows around
the country and speaks nationally and internationally on global technology
and business issues. Ms. Aftab also counsels governmental regulatory authorities
on legal issues impacted by Internet commerce. An author of over 50 articles,
Ms. Aftab also recently authored the 1998 book, A Parents' Guide to the
Internet ... and how to protect your children in cyberspace (www.familyguidebook.com).
(All her royalties on the book are donated to Roads Without Ramps, a charitable
foundation she established to help wheelchair-bound children connect to
the Internet.) She also devotes time to working with many communities and
school systems to help them develop Internet use policies, training programs
and online curricula. Ms. Aftab is a charter member of Children Television
Workshop Online Advisory Board, as well as a member of The National Urban
League's Technology Advisory Committee.
Tony B/CA - Parry
Aftab is actually an expert in cyberspace and technology law. She also
is expert on all forms of electronic commerce.
Parry Aftab is the Host of America On Line's
Legal Discussion Boards. Together with Court TV, she also originated and
hosted Court TV Law Center's former Legal Helpline. She is a frequent contributor
to major business and legal publications, has appeared on CNN, Fox News,
Today New York, good Morning America, MSNBC, Inside Edition, and many other
news and talk shows around the country and speaks nationally and internationally
on global technology and business issues. She has published more than 50
articles, and law journal articles. Welcome Parry, and nice to have you
here.
Parry - Hi all...I'm
honored to be here.
Parry - Teachers
are the real players when it comes to online safety...
Tony B/CA - Parry,
you feel that electronic commerce has reached a point where people can
feel secure purchasing over the Internet? What are the primary considerations
for an e-commerce hosting site. ...that's my one question, now I'll do
my job ;)
Parry - People don't
feel secure, but they should.
Parry - as long as
you use a secure connection, you're probably a lot safer using your credit
card online than handing it to your run of the mill gas station attendant.
Parry - an e-commerce
site just needs to have a secure connection and teach people to feel safe.
Bob R/CA - Ms. Aftab
(Parry) would you like to introduce yourself and say a few words about
your background in this field?
Parry - Parry...please.
I'm a lawyer in NY and NJ, and practice in Moscow Russia too. But I'm proudest
of the fact that I am now working with cyberangels.
Parry - safety and
education program in cyberspace.
Parry - I've also
been working with schools lately, and just got back from the national link
up amercia events.
Bob R/CA - tell us
about cyberangels. Is there a link for this?
Parry - sure, http://www.cyberangels.org Parry - we have about
500,000 hits and 350,000 site visitors a month now.
Parry - we also have
the best and most dedictaed and talented volunteers anywhere.
Bob R/CA - What is
your involvement in the organization, specifically what do they do?
Parry - I'm the new
executive director. We teach online safety.
Parry - we also have
hunters and trackers, who find and track the child pornographers. And we
have secure rooms and moms who monitor chatrooms on the web.
Bob R/CA - Parry,
you also have a book out - Parents' Guide to the Internet - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966049101/teachersnet
Care to tell us about this?
Parry - sure...I
did a piece for CNN a year and a half ago.
Parry - and so many
parents called me afterwards, I realized there was a need to teach them
about the internet basics. All royalties on the book go to a foundation
I set up for wheelchair bound children. It's
my first book...and maybe my last<g>
Bob R/CA - Tell us
what we can find out about in your book?
Parry - Just about
everything you need to know... all about the
internet and how to get connected, dangers and risks to kids and risks
posed by kids online, solutions and suggestions, including filtering product
reviews, and finally all the terrific things you'll find online.
Bob R/CA - Is the
book targeted to teachers, parents, or everyone who has deals with kids?
Parry - all of the
above<g>
Parry - it's a good
basic manual. I even find myself referring to it. I needed compuserve's
telephone number today, and viola!!
Ben - What do you
mean by teachers are the real players when it comes to online safety, Parry?
How can a user tell if a connection is secure?
Parry - Teachers
are on the firing line every day...dealing with parents who are clueless
about the Internet<g> and kids who know more than anyone else about
it<g> On the bottom left of your
browser, there will be a key, if it's netscape. If it's broken it's not
a secure connection, if it's in one piece it is. It
tells you that the information is encrypted while in transit.
Mary K&1 - Parry,
what are your impressions of the level of awareness that most parents have
concerning the internet and their children's use of it. What are the kinds
of questions that they ask?
Parry - We did a
recent survey of 8,000 families in Baltimore County, Maryland. Most felt
that they knew more than their children did. Overwhelminly,
all wanted to know more about what their schools were doing online.
Very few know about filtering products and what they
can do, and even fewer use them. About 6% in my expereince. Most
recognize the need for their children using the new technology.
I have also been surprised to see that lower income
parents are even more interested in their children having access to the
Internet
Bob R/CA - Thanks.
Parry does your book cover/offer "acceptable use" policies for teachers
and schools?
Parry - Bob, no it
doesn't, but I'm putting several up at the cyberangels site in our connect-ed
pages shortly ... a reason you use the different provisions and how to
adapt them to your needs. The best policies
are at http://www.bcplonline.org/online Sandy/k/mo - what
types of things were they wondering about the internet.. my kinders are
on all the time with me ... the parents ... are they concerned about us
using it ... just any parents.. from our community...
rural there is some resistance...
Parry - not generally.
They have a great deal of faith in what you're doing...
Parry - think anyone
is telling them enough about what you're doing.
Parry - funny, I've
seen the greatest resisitance in rural communities too.
Parry - Keep them
in the loop, show them what you're doing... show
them what you're doing to keep the kids in the good areas online.
Parry - Sandy, try
doing a website with the kids and invite all parents to see it, we'll help
with our lil angels team, if you want. Send me an e-mail and I'll suggest
some things we can do. parry@aftab.com Ben - What do you
mean by filtering products Parry? Please explain! Are you referring to
firewalls Boards may institute?
Parry - firewalls,
proxie servers, server level blocking products (like Bess) and products
like Net Nanny etc.
Ben - Do you have
these listed in your book Parry?
Parry - sure, Ben,
and at our site and the http://www.familyguidebook.com
site and at children television workshop's site for parents.
Marjan/CDN - Parry,
were any of these filters effective with the blocking of the Starr Report?
Parry - Marjan: Bess
and SurfWatch gave schools and parents the ability to block the Starr report.
Net Nanny and CyberPatrol and Cybersitter just used filtering technology
to block the adult parts.
Mary K&1 - Parry,
have you also surveyed students about their impressions of their parents'
awareness?
Parry - yup. They
univerally thought they knew more and that their parents were clueless.
Parry - But, frankly,
isn't that what all kids think about everything?<g>
Bob R/CA - Parry,
what advice can you offer to parents to help keep their kids safe on the
Net?
Parry - other than
reading my book?<g>
Parry - seriously<g>,
don't panic.
Parry - l'm the parent
and can disconnect the computer.
Parry - Computer
in a central location.
Parry - Where they
go, and who they talk to regularly
Parry - Teach them
never to give out personal information and teach them what you consider
personal information.
Parry - And they
should never ever meet anyone in person they met online.
Parry - Make sure
they understand the rules of online etiquette (netiquette)
J.P. - Do you think
that by putting the Starr Report on the Internet - and on the Congressional
site - that they're "muddied the waters" regarding "community standards"
and pornography on the net ?
Parry - There's lots
of information online that might be appropriate for adults that children
shouldn't see.
Parry - for requiring
all adults to be kept at a reading level appropriate for a twelve year
old.
Parry - to teach
their children how to screen information and how to ignore information
that might even be in the NY Times.
Parry - it's a good
opportunity to teach children your values about trust and honesty and fidelity.
Parry - but it's
still odd that we're talking about blocking access to government servers,
isn't it?
J.P. - I was wondering
if court action against sites considered "pornographic" could now say,
"Well, the Congress put some pretty graphic stuff up there."
Bob R/CA - I thought
that was what you were getting at JP
Parry - The obscene
sites (illegal pornogrpahy with no redeemable value, essentially) are still
a far cry from the Starr Report and other legal adult material online.
We always need to distinguish between legal material that consenting adults
should be able to access and the illegla stuff that no one should be able
to access, like kiddie porn.
Mary K&1 - Parry,
are Chat Rooms the source of most problems and fears?
Parry - Mary, the
chatrooms, instant messages and the IRC. Kids
forget all the stranger danger stuff we teach them when they get involved
in a chat. That's why we set up cybermoms, to help monitor chat rooms for
kids, with live mom monitoring.
Lil-A - I am having
trouble finding chat rooms for wheel chair bound children... any adeas?
Parry - Lil-A, check
out my book, there's one site I liked, called, I think, http://www.wow.org
(wonders on wheels) and I've just been told by someone that on Talk City
they have a chatroom called #friends-with-disabilities.
Parry - know, LilA,
we're building a chat for children with disabilities too.
Bob R/CA - Ok. Parry,
do all filtering systems work the same? In your opinion, which is the best?
Parry - Bob, no they
don't work the same. I like Net Nanny the best right now...since it allows
parents and teachers to choos what to block and gives us the chance to
see what they'v blocked and the ability to change it.
Parry - The others,
genreally, won't show you which sites they blocked.
Parry - Since I don't
trust anyone to make decisions for my kids except for me...I need to see
the list.
Bob R/CA - Net Nanny
is available here: http://www.netsales.net/pk.wcgi/netnan-teach Ben - Parry you've
mentioned a variey of filters fot the net. Are these available to the average
user via the Net by simply downloading and installing! If so where?
Parry - Well, Ben
you have the net nanny site here at the teachers.net, and they probably
benefit if you order it here. the others are at their names. http://www.netpatrol.com/,
http://www.cybersitter.com,
http://www.surfwatch.com Parry - you can use
them for free for 30 days, but do not install more than one on your computer
at the same time, it somehow screws up the way they work.
Bob R/CA - (correct
- a portion of that Net Nany link/purchase goes to Teachers.Net)
Tony B/CA - Thanks,
Parry. You're absolutely correct.
Parry - Net Nanny
is a big supporter of non-profits and Internet groups.
Kathy/5/IA - Are
there safe chats for kids? We just got hooked to the Internet yesterday.
I'd like my kids to be able to discuss books they are reading with others
sometime.
Parry - sure, Freezone
has one, http://www.freezone.com
- TalkCity another http://www.talkcity.com,
AOL has kids only...use keyword kidsonly
Ashara - If you are
using IRC, you can log onto talkcity at chat.talkcity.com:6667?
Parry - Make sure
they have live people moderating the chats, not robots/computers which
miss stuff sometimes.
Parry - If there's
a site you like with chat and no moderators, let us know. we lend out or
cybermoms to help.
Kathy/5/IA - What
do the cybermoms do?
Parry - Cybermoms
are real life moms who sit in chatrooms watching kids, just like moms do
in the playground, but our moms are specially trained to spot the bad guys.
Kids under 13 should never be in an unmoderated chatroom, IMHO.
Kathy/5/IA - Is there
a charge for lining up a cybermom? How do you know these are "safe moms".
Parry - No charge,
Kathy. these are dedicated volunteers. We do full background checks before
they're allowed online as a cybermom.
Tony B/CA - How do
you recruit cybermoms?
Parry - Tony, people
we meet online and off.
Kathy/5/IA - But
what about "lurkers"
Parry - Lurkers are
alwasy a problem, but we advise the parents of a younger child to block
stranger e-mail and instant messages. Without the ability to contact the
child directly outside the monitored chat, the lurker is outa luck.
Jady - Isn't it true
that the only way you can really protect your kids is to be there with
them?
Parry - Jady: be
there or teach them to follow your rules when you're not there.
Software might help, but there is no substitute for
good training and safety education.
Kathy/5/IA - How
do we contact you if we would need one?
Parry - Kathy, just
send me an e-mail and we'll get you going.
Parry - we have a
child online safety quiz at our site http://www.cyberangels.org/quiz/quiz.html Ben - Parry, I understand
the use of cybermoms! However, are there any men that act in this same
capacity?
Parry - Ben, no men
yet.
Ben - Why?
Parry - Ben, we have
learned that women are less likely to be pedophiles, approximately 85/15%
men to women. We're playing the odds. But men can join our net patrols
to ferret out the bad guys.
Tony B/CA - We want
to thank Parry for spending this quality time with us. I know we have a
few more questions, and we're going to leave this session open for a while
to archive your further discussions.
Parry - thanks for
letting me join you... it was fun.
Parry - Please let
your teachers know we are building a page just for teachers, with a huge
link to you guys, of course!<gg> the url
is http://www.cyberangels.org/about/aboutconnected.html
but is still only partly done.
Parry - a page at
the cyberangels.org site, has a resource on issues like acceptable use
policies and teaching modules.
Bob R/CA - One more
plug for your book, Parry - It's available on-line from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966049101/teachersnet/ Bob R/CA - Parry's
website is http://www.aftab.com Ashara - Parry, is
your book available in bookstores too?
Parry - yup, Barens
& Nobles, Border and most others. The publisher is SC Press, so don't
get it mixed up with other similarly titled books.
Parry - thanks for
all the kind words, also stop by http://www.cyberangels.org Bob R/CA - Parry,
do you have any more speaking engagements on the horizon? It was gerat
to hear you speak at the White House Internet Summit this year.
Parry - I was the
keynote speaker at CARU's online privacy and advertising to children conference
last week, and a speaker at the Turner Broadcast at America Links Up. I
also ran the launch event for ALU, at Baltimore County.
Parry - But most
significantly...I held a chat with Mr. Toad on Disney last Friday.<g>
protecting him from weasals online<gg>
Tony B/CA - Parry,
THANK YOU. We will be inviting you back. I believe this has been an extremely
useful and informative session. We appreciate your volunteer efforts to
support teachers and parents in cyberspace.
Bob R/CA - Bye Parry
:o)
Tony B/CA - goodnite,
Parry.
