The decision about how to address the issue of Internet safety for children is an important and complicated one for parents and educators.  This mix of risk and opportunity creates fundamental questions for a society predicated on free speech and equal opportunity.  How can parents and educators balance safety concerns while encouraging children to participate in the full measure of the Internet’s education and recreational opportunties?  Who is responsible for children’s safety on the Information Highway?  And what role should government play?

On Tuesday, November 9, 1999 the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, with the support of the National School Boards Association and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, hosted a national satellite videoconference to address the growing concerns of online safety and provide important information for parents and teachers to utilize to ensure that children are safe while they “surf.”

This live videoconference was designed to: 
 

• Raise awareness regarding the online dangers of the Internet and encourage the development of safe online practices;
• Discuss the principles and policy implications for parents and educators;
• Provide strategies that parents, educators, and others can implement to protect children from the hidden dangers of the Internet.