Online Child Safety Working Group (June 2009)
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
June 4, 2009
The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that the first meeting of its newly formed Online Safety and Technology Working Group will be held on June 4, 2009, in Washington, D.C. The meeting was originally scheduled for May 22, 2009. The Working Group was created to advise the federal government on industry efforts to keep children safe on the Internet.
NTIA also announced that Hedda Litwin, Cyberspace Law Counsel of the National Association of Attorneys General, will join the more than two dozen private sector and child and family advocacy leaders on the Working Group.
"The Obama Administration recognizes the importance of involving the states in protecting the safety and privacy of our children as they use the Internet," Acting NTIA Administrator Anna Gomez said. "I'm pleased that Ms. Litwin has agreed to join this effort to help foster a safe online environment for children. I look forward to working with such talented and experienced people as they prepare their report to Congress and NTIA."
The Working Group was established by the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act." Members will work with federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and Department of Education, to evaluate industry efforts and to make recommendations to promote online safety for children through education, labeling, and parental control technology. The Working Group will also evaluate and make recommendations on industry efforts to prevent and respond to criminal activity involving children and the Internet. Within a year of convening its first meeting, the group will submit a report to Congress and the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of its findings and make recommendations on how to increase online safety measures.
The Group's first meeting will be held on June 4, 2009, at the Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Further details of the meeting will be posted prior to the meeting date at www.ntia.doc.gov.
The NTIA is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the executive branch agency principally responsible for advising the President on communications and information policies. For more information about the NTIA, visit www.ntia.doc.gov.