In 1978, an award-winning documentary showed a group of teen juvenile offenders being taken to a New Jersey maximum-security prison, where for three hours “a group of inmates known as ‘the lifers’ berate[d], scream[ed] at, and terrif[ied] the young offenders in an attempt to ‘scare them straight” so they’d stop offending, as Wikipedia tells the story. The film actually popularized the “Scared … [Read more...] about At last: Sext ed based on facts not fear
Law & Policy
Digital youth: Honor ALL their rights
This is a pivotal year for children’s online safety and human rights. One important reason is the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s call for public comments to help it develop the first General Comment on the digital part of fulfilling children’s human rights. Those rights are extensive. There are 54 articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, falling into 3 categories labeled … [Read more...] about Digital youth: Honor ALL their rights
The Internet’s changing. Internet safety needs to too.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just announced a sea change for Facebook, one that "will mean taking positions on important issues concerning the future of the internet," he wrote. I think he's right, and not just because Facebook is the Internet in some countries or because its products have affected elections and the public order (or lack thereof) in many countries, including ours. I agree, too, … [Read more...] about The Internet’s changing. Internet safety needs to too.
Facebook’s ‘Oversight Board’ & Internet safety’s next big step
This could almost be a sidebar to what I wrote earlier this month about the new middle layer of user care that’s organically developing for the new conditions of today’s media environment – a layer of care that’s independent of government and corporations and lies between “the cloud” and long-established care on the ground. But this news is too big for a sidebar! [Disclosure: In addition to the … [Read more...] about Facebook’s ‘Oversight Board’ & Internet safety’s next big step
Digital safety 2019: The new ‘middle layer’ of user care (Part 2)
Part 1 of this series was 2018 highlights. Now it’s time to shine light on some interesting ideas and developments that people have surfaced for a better Internet in 2019 and beyond. We’ll look at a new middle layer of user care that’s being discussed by some – and gradually being built out, little by little, worldwide. Called for by the conditions of our new media environment, it’s a new layer of … [Read more...] about Digital safety 2019: The new ‘middle layer’ of user care (Part 2)