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The European Framework for Safer Mobile Use by Younger Teenagers and Children is a self-regulatory initiative of the mobile industry, which puts forward recommendations to ensure that younger teenagers and children can safely access content on their mobile phones. The recommendations are as follows: * Classification of commercial content - mobile operators' own and third-party commercial content should be classified in line with existing national standards of decency and appropriateness so as to identify content unsuitable for viewing by children and younger teenagers; * Access control mechanisms - appropriate means for parents for controlling children's access to this content should be provided; * Education and awareness-raising - mobile operators should work to raise awareness and provide advice to parents on safer use of mobile services, and ensure customers have ready access to mechanisms for reporting safety concerns; * Fighting illegal content on mobile community products and the Internet - mobile operators should work with law enforcement agencies, national authorities and INHOPE or equivalent bodies to combat illegal content on the Internet.

Child safety experts, policymakers, leaders in the nonprofit sector and the wireless industry joined together on 4/22/09 at the Wireless Online Safety Conference, co-hosted by the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) and The Wireless Foundation, to discuss the challenges kids face in a mobile online environment and the vital role education plays in keeping them safe.

In this talk, presented at the Family Online Safety Institute's annual conference (Nov 2010), senior research specialist Amanda Lenhart discussed Pew Internet data about how teens use mobile phones and the potential safety issues associated with them. The presentation was based on the April 2010 study by PEW on Teens and Mobile Phones. See: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones.aspx

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is proposing a federal grant program to research and educate children about Internet safety. Menedez, D-N.J., said he is hopeful that educating teenagers, teachers and parents will stop children from sending explicit photos of themselves over cell phones and the Internet. The grant proposal would authorize $25 million to $35 million each year for Internet safety programs. The grants would be awarded on a two-year basis and administered by the Department of Justice.

This Web Wise Kids cell phone safety program for middle school children is titled It's Your Call. Based on true stories, it is an interactive game that allows users to play out difficult situations in the safety of cyberspace before they live them out in real life. The game offers teens guidance about responsible cell phone behaviors and how to use these devices to enhance their personal safety. Players become a live action character in an interactive movie and are presented with a series of difficult decisions in a slice-of-life context. The teens must make tough decisions and view the consequences of their actions in the video.

My Mobile Watchdog is a parenting tool that gives you the information necessary to effectively talk with your children about safety threats and potential dangers.

FOSI and The Wireless Foundation Conference: Wireless Online Safety: Keeping Kids Safe in a Mobile Environment

They came from pretty much every sector-nonprofits, government, wireless executives, and think tanks-to a day-long conference in Washington D.C. on how to respond to the panic du jour over kids, mobile phones, and sex

The National Road Safety Foundation teamed up with National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), to invite young people to help get out important safe driving messages in their own thoughts and words in a Drive to Life PSA Competition. The winning video was submitted by Bethany Brown.

The world of chatrooms and instant messaging is foreign to many adults, but a British advocate for children's cyber safety says they need to understand its importance to young people.

WiredSafety provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages. We help victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks. We also help parents with issues, such as MySpace and cyberbullying.

Talking on cellphones is passé for students who use them for networking and sending photos. Mobile Social Networking Software - the next wave of virtual community - is already appearing on cellphones, beginning with college campuses. These under-25s (the target market for early adoption of hot new gadgets) are using what many observers call the next big consumer technology shift: Mobile Social Networking Software, or Mososo. The sophisticated reach of cyber-social networks such as MySpace or Facebook, combined with the military precision of GPS, is putting enough power in these students' pockets to run a small country.

After reviewing the positives and negatives of cell phones and cell phone usage safety tips, students will explore a scenario in which a friendly relationship turns to a bullying one involving cell phones and computers.

As part of Sound Transit's safety outreach for Link light rail, Sound Transit asked Seattle area high school students to develop short films that educated their peers about staying safe around Link...

Alex Hayes, Janet Hawtin and other members of the TALO list are mobilizing a "Learning in the 21st Century" f2f round table and discussion on Safety and Privacy online. It will hopefully involve not only educators but also parents, students, IT staff, management and other members of the community. It is extremely important that people listen and become aware of the different perspectives.

Despite their convenience, cell phones can pose a threat to teens' safety - physically, mentally, and emotionally. When placed in the hands of an adolescent without being accompanied with several words of wisdom, cell phones have been the root cause of both physical harm and horrific embarrassment to the child. Parents should consider laying several ground rules about how and when the cell phone should be used

Thoughtful post! As long as internet safety and digital citizenship are presented as a business, with products to be purchased to prevent problems, curricula that purport to immunize children, and professionals required to deliver messages, it's no wonder that parents and teachers are paralyzed by the prospect of helping children negotiate their lives online. At the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) Annual Conference, held in Washington, DC last week, there was a striking confluence of those who view digital citizenship as an extension of our daily roles as citizens, and those who have a vested interest in keeping the alarm bells going in order to draw parents and teachers into their camp for speaking engagements, stand-alone curricula, web-tracking, web-blocking, or mobile phone tracking services.