Case Study of Australian Family Protection Online

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Introduction

The Australian government aims to protect the safety and security of children online when they are using the Internet. It is known that now more children are using the Internet. The Coalition Plan for Protecting Australian Families Online in 2010 states that in Australia, 93 percent of children and teenagers use the Internet while another 84 percent, even as young as eight years old, are connected with social-networking sites (Coalition 2010).

The Australian government launched its program for Protecting Australian Families Online known as the NetAlert with a cost of about $ 189 million. It was a comprehensive, multifaceted response to the threat posed to children online. This program comprised education and services, and regulation and policing to minimize the possible harm to ensure that the Australian families could get their best from the Internet.

It was said that the security of online children is not a effortless task, and there was no one single solution available to it. Rather, the threats were identified to be dual, that is the threat of the content available online, and the threat of online predators that catch unsuspecting children. Further, it was considered that the content which is acceptable to one may be outright objectionable to another person. In this way, the policy program aimed to help the Australian families get the most out of their Internet by providing them education and advice on dealing with online threats, by providing online content filters to protect children, and to delineate ways to put complaints about illegal online content and online unlawful activity.

The area of combating online threats to children is ever-evolving. Continuous changes are occurring in social and technological spheres in the world, which require that such programs remain vigilant and abreast of latest developments. Consequently, there is an urgent need to help families in Australia to get a better experience using web technologies and Internet through proper education and training of their children. The policy advocates the method to SEE their family for safety while online through Supervision, Education and Equipping (that is, See).

It is very important to supervise all Internet use in the house. The computers should be only kept in common areas of the house, and children may be told as to what they can use the Internet for, and how, while telling them how to interact with people who are online. Then there is the need to educate oneself and the family regarding using the Internet safely. The children seriously need to be taught as to how to use the Internet carefully and critically. Finally, there is the need to equip the family with the latest Internet security and threat protection. The computer needs to be all safe and secure (Nairn 2007).

Australian Family Protection Online

Outline of the Policy Area of Protecting Australian Families Online

The policy area of protecting Australian families online is wide and open. The concept has been discussed since long; however no explicit legislation has been enacted, in Australia, to deal with the menacing ...