make-IT-safe main page
 End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes
Children’s Charities Coalition for Internet Safety
www.make-IT-safe.net

 

Sample letter to an IT or communications company please adapt as required

Dear __________________

I am/we are writing to urge you and your company to take action to ensure IT products and services, especially your own, are safe for children and young people.

We all know that the internet and other interactive communications technologies can be hugely beneficial to children and young people for their educational development, and as a source of enjoyment. We also know children and young people are among the leading users of all kinds of online and interactive media – internet, chat rooms, news groups, web cams, mobile phones, and online and offline gaming.

However, the use of these technologies can bring unintended and unforeseen consequences which expose children and young people to serious risks. These include:

• An explosion in the production and distribution of child pornography online.
• Resulting sexual abuse of children to make pornography circulated online.
• Sexual predators using chat rooms and messaging to contact and ‘groom’ children for sexual abuse, often with tragic consequences.
• Children being encouraged to post online personal details, photos and videos of themselves and others, or to send them via email or mobile phones to strangers.
• Exposing children and young people to abusive and damaging materials online, whether legal or illegal.

When faced with spam, viruses and other threats to the integrity or technical coherence of the internet, the IT industry has been quick to come together to formulate new and effective standards and protocols, and to promote awareness of those standards. This has not happened in relation to protecting children online. It is time for that to change.

The make-IT-safe campaign is calling on the IT industry to act now to ensure children and young people enjoy the benefits of new information technologies without risk of harm. I/we urge you to support this campaign by taking the following steps:

• Use existing industry channels to collaborate with colleagues at home and abroad on child safety issues.
• Collaborate on standards, protocols and working tools to help parents, teachers and children to stay safe online.
• Support a wide-ranging education and awareness campaign, with materials also in local languages and more traditional forms such as leaflets and booklets.

I/we also urge you to support making children and young people safe online by signing the make-IT-safe petition at www.make-IT-safe.net and to encourage industry members to do the same.

I/we look forward to your response to the issues raised in this letter. Your reply and details of any actions will be forwarded to the make-IT-safe campaign which is monitoring and publicising industry responses. If you would like any more information about the issues raised in this letter or the make-IT-safe campaign, please contact me/us or info@make-IT-safe.net .


Yours ____________________