New guidelines to improve child internet safety
14th February 2011, 01:01 pm 
Image by psd via Flickr
Given the recent announcement that criminal records checks on volunteer child workers are to be scaled back, the publication of an updated set of guidelines for moderating ‘interactive services’ aimed at young audiences seems like a very timely one and one that any brand or social media agency working with these audiences needs to be aware of.
Launched on Safer Internet Day (Feb 8 2011) by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, the guidelines were written with the help of child safety experts, charities and specialist moderation agencies, including our friends at eModeration and Tempero. This is another step taken towards improving self-regulation within the social media industry, which is important for three reasons:
- Brands have a more comprehensive, up to date framework (last set of guidelines were released in 2005) from which to confidently build and manage online communities, social networks, and social media campaigns, in a way that is safe for under 18’s.
- The implementation of higher standards of training and moderation by proactive brands will further safeguard against unsuitable individuals interacting with children online.
- Worried parents will be able to build more trust in the brands that are seen to implement the very highest child safety standards for the online worlds, in which their children take part in on a daily basis.
In summary, the document does the following:
- Describes the different types of user interactive services e.g. forums, message boards, chat and instant messaging, social networks
- Informs organisations of the potential risks to children using interactive services.
- Informs organisations of the issues they should take into account when considering the necessary safeguards to deploy.
- Describes the types of moderation that can be used.
- Assists organisations develop, review or update polices on the recruitment, selection, training and supervision of moderators to safeguard against unsuitable individuals gaining contact with children and reporting of incidents and concerns
If you’re in the business of building and managing online communities, as FreshNetworks is, please do read these guidelines which are also available on the UKCCIS site