Dick Thornburgh and Herbert S. Lin, Editors

Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

National Research Council



A.

 

Information Gathering Sessions of the Committee




A.1.

 

PLENARY MEETING OF JULY 17-19, 2000



National Research Council
2001 Wisconsin Avenue
Green Building
Washington, D.C.

Monday, July 17

Presentation of Charge

  • Dean Hoffman, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Linda Roberts, U.S. Department of Education

Panel: Considering the Extent of the Problem

  • David Finkelhor, University of New Hampshire
  • Michael Marshall, Microsoft (retired)
  • John Rabun, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
  • Jeff Richards, Internet Alliance

Primer on the First Amendment

  • Geoffrey Stone, University of Chicago

Panel: First Amendment Perspectives

  • Bruce Taylor, National Law Center for Children and Families
  • Robert Flores, National Law Center for Children and Families
  • Elliot Mincberg, People for the American Way
  • Marvin Johnson, American Civil Liberties Union
  • Paul McMasters, The Freedom Forum

Tuesday, July 18

Panel: Technological Issues

  • Milo Medin, Excite@Home
  • Paul Resnick, University of Michigan
  • Bhavani Thuraisingham, MITRE

Panel: Library Perspectives

  • Marilyn Mason, Independent Consultant
  • Carol Roddy, Ohio Public Library Information Network
  • Judith Krug, American Library Association
  • Walter Minkel, Cahners Business Information
  • Caroline Ward, Ferguson Library and outgoing president of American Library Association Services for Children (tentative)

Panel: School Perspectives

  • Lynne Schrum, University of Georgia
  • Linda Braun, LEO: Librarians and Educators Online
  • Carrie Gardner, Milton Hershey School
  • Maribeth Luftglass, Fairfax County Schools

Panel: Community Perspective

  • Robin Raskin, Family PC
  • Parry Aftab, Cyberangels
  • Bruce Watson, Enough Is Enough


A.2.

 

PLENARY MEETING OF OCTOBER 18-20, 2000



Georgetown Holiday Inn
Mirage Room II
2101 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, October 18

Panel: Perspectives on Child Development

  • Jeff McIntyre, American Psychological Association
  • Mary Anne Layden, University of Pennsylvania

Demonstrations: Sexually Explicit Material on the Internet (closed session)

Panel: Understanding the Obscenity Statutes

Governmental Perspectives

  • Terry Lord, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Kenneth Neu, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Daniel Armagh, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Nongovernmental Perspectives

  • Rob Showers, Gammon & Grange
  • Beth Farber, Federal Public Defender
  • Robert Peters, National Obscenity Law Center, Morality in Media
  • Jon Katz, Marks & Katz, LLC

Questions for the Panels

  • Given a policy to prosecute obscenity cases, what factors determine whether or not to pursue a case? How does the exposure of a minor to obscene materials affect a decision to prosecute?
  • How are community standards set for determining obscenity determined?
  • Would a case of Internet obscenity be prosecuted differently from one associated with a neighborhood bookstore? Why or why not?
  • How has policy regarding enforcement of obscenity laws changed over the years at the local, state, and federal level?
  • What approaches would be most effective in dealing with online obscenity? (to include but not be limited to any or all of the following: technological tools such as filters, community practices, legislation or regulation)

Thursday, October 19

Panel: Perspective of ISPs (general purpose, family friendly)

  • Steve Ensley, American Family Online
  • Mike Chilton, Dotsafe
  • Ginny Wydler, America Online

Questions for the Panel

  • How do you decide what is appropriate material for minors to access? How does this differ by age?
  • Please comment on the exposure of minors to sexually explicit material online by source, i.e., explicitly sought, inadvertently accessed, or pushed actively by another party.
  • How do you limit exposure for minors to sexually explicit material online? What strategies or tools appear most successful? What strategies or tools have limited success? Why?
  • Is there a "range" for access for minors? How is it determined?
  • What approaches would be most effective in limiting the exposure of minors to sexually explicit material on the Internet?
  • Unsolicited or bulk e-mails are sent to minors' accounts but may contain links to sexually explicit sites. How might these mailings be eliminated or better targeted to adults?

Panel: Perspectives of Education Associations

  • Julie Underwood, National School Boards Association
  • Arthur Sheekey, Council of Chief State School Officers

Questions for the Panel

  • What are your primary concerns about the exposure of minors to sexually explicit material online?
  • How are your members responding to the issue?
  • How should the risk of exposure to inappropriate sexual content be balanced against the risk of denying access to helpful or educational material that might be inappropriately blocked?
  • What approaches to limit the exposure of minors to online sexually explicit material are appropriate for schools, communities, libraries, and families?

Panel: Perspective of Teenagers

  • Brittany and Yves, Teenangels, New Jersey, with Parry Aftab, Cyberangels
  • Alex, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
  • Alexandria, Virginia
Questions for the Panel

  • Do you think that adults (parents, teachers) understand enough about the Internet to provide supervision?
  • How easy is it to circumvent actions intended to prevent someone from reaching sexually explicit material online?
  • What do you think are the best ways to protect minors from inappropriate Internet content?
  • Have you ever seen pornography online? How did it happen? For instance, was it sent to you? Did you accidentally access a message containing a link? Did you mistype a URL and get an adult site?
  • What have you done when you have gotten sexually explicit material online? Have you told anyone? Who? What happened?
  • Do you think you get a lot of bulk or unrequested e-mails containing sexually explicit material?
  • Have you ever been made uncomfortable by someone in a chat room or by an Instant Messenger message? What happened? What did you do?
  • Do you know how to protect yourself when you go online? Where did you learn these rules?

Discussion of COPA Commission Report (closed session)

Friday, October 20

Panel: Adult Entertainment Industry Representatives

  • Danni Ashe, Danni's Hard Drive
  • J.T. Edmond, Flying Crocodile
  • Gloria Leonard, Free Speech Coalition
  • Larry Lux, Playboy Online
  • Gerard Van der Leun, Penthouse.com

Questions for the Panel

  • What is your perception of the issue of minors' exposure to sexually explicit material online? How are your members/clients responding to the issue? How broad is your membership base compared to the universe of providers of such material?
  • What are the most appropriate means for distinguishing between adults and minors in an online context?
  • How should/can the current regime of limiting the exposure of minors to sexually explicit print and TV and movies be extended to the Internet domain?
  • What are the most appropriate approaches to limit the exposure of minors to online sexually explicit material? What strategies or tools appear most successful? What strategies or tools have limited success? Why?
  • Unsolicited or bulk e-mails are sent to minors' accounts but may contain links to sexually explicit sites. How might these mailings be eliminated or better targeted to adults?
  • What approaches would you like to see adopted or developed to limit the exposure of minors to online sexually explicit material?
  • What technologies might better target likely audiences for adult entertainment?

Overview of Bertelsmann Report, Protecting Our Children on the Internet

  • Jack Balkin, Yale University


A.3.

 

PUBLIC WORKSHOP OF DECEMBER 13, 2000



Georgetown University Conference Center
Salon H Meeting Room
3800 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington, D.C.

December 13, 2000: Workshop

Non-Technical Strategies That Can Be Used to Protect Children on the Internet: What Are the Roles of Policies, Parents, Schools, Libraries and Communities?

  • Linda Roberts, Director, Office of Educational Technology and Senior Adviser to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
  • Anne Thompson, Program Commissioner, National PTA

Questions for Discussion

  • How does one define non-technical strategies for protecting kids from inappropriate material on the Internet?
  • What non-technical approaches are used in the home, classroom, and community settings?
  • What is the role of parents in making non-technical strategies effective, and what do parents need?
  • How effective have current policies been in encouraging schools and communities to develop non-technical strategies?

An Extended Panel on Bringing Developmental Considerations to Bear on the Impact of Inappropriate Material on the Internet

Part I: Effects of Exposure to Pornographic and Other Inappropriate Material on the Internet

  • Jane Brown, Professor, School of Journalism of Mass Communications, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Joanne Cantor, Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Ed Donnerstein, Dean and Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Moderator/Discussant: Sandra Calvert, Committee Member and Professor of Psychology, Georgetown University

Issues for Discussion

  • What types of inappropriate material do young people encounter, and how do they come in contact with it?
  • What is the potential impact on children of viewing sexually explicit and other forms of inappropriate material in the media?
  • Is impact dependent only on the type of material or also on the source (e.g., static image on the Internet, picture from a magazine, active images from television)?
  • What are the limits of this research, and to what extent can we make comparisons among the effects of viewing different types of inappropriate material (e.g., sexually explicit vs. violent vs. hate speech)?

Part II: Developmental Considerations for Determining Appropriate Internet Use Guidelines for Children and Adolescents

  • Patricia Greenfield, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
  • James Youniss, Professor, Life Cycle Institute, Catholic University of America
  • Dorothy Singer, Senior Research Scientist, Department of Psychology, Yale University, and Co-director, Yale University Family Television Research and Consultation Center

Issues for Discussion

  • How are emotional, cognitive, social, and moral development affected by the media landscape created by children's access to and use of the Internet?
  • What types of material may be harmful according to children's growth and developmental needs, and how may harmful affects change with age and developmental milestone?
  • How do parents and educators balance giving young people the responsibility of exploring the Internet with protecting them from material that may be disturbing?
  • How should developmental issues shape non-technical strategies to protect kids from inappropriate material, and what non-technical strategies will most benefit children's development?

Push and Pull on the Internet: Children's Use and Experiences

  • Don Roberts, Thomas More Storke Professor, Department of Communication, Stanford University
  • Sarah Keller, Assistant Professor, Health Communication, Department of Communication, Emerson College
  • Moderator/Discussant: Janet Schofield, Committee Member, Professor of Psychology and Senior Scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh

Questions for Discussion

  • How are children using the Internet, in what settings are children logging on, and are there differential patterns of use according to age, gender, and ethnicity?
  • What are children's experiences while online, both positive and negative?
  • How are children pulled into material that they might not otherwise view, and what affect might this have?
  • How are young people driving their experiences on the Internet, and how can young people be encouraged to stay in charge of their online experiences?

Innovative Approaches and Existing Efforts to Use Non-Technological Strategies to Protect Children on the Internet

  • Laurie Lipper, Director, The Children's Partnership
  • Kathy Boguszewski, Instructional Technology Consultant, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
  • Mary Dempsey, Commissioner, Chicago Public Library
  • Nancy Willard, Director, responsible Netizen Research, Center for Advanced Technology in Education, University of Oregon
  • Eileen Faucette, Founder and Coordinator, PTA Live Online
  • Moderator/Discussant: Winnie Wechsler, Committee Member

Questions for Discussion

  • What are some of the non-technological strategies that might be used by educators, librarians, parents, and local communities to ensure children's safe and appropriate use of the Internet?
  • What types of inappropriate material do these strategies address, and how do they protect against the potential harm this material might cause?
  • Who has been responsible for implementing and monitoring these approaches?
  • How can these approaches be tailored to different venues (e.g., home, school, library)?

Bridging Research, Policy, and Practice

  • Ellen Wartella, Dean and Professor, College of Communication, University of Texas, Austin
  • Laura Gurak, Associate Professor, Rhetoric; Faculty Fellow, Law; and Director, Internet Studies Center, University of Minnesota
  • Betty Chemers, Deputy Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Questions for Discussion

  • What research is needed to develop new non-technical strategies for protecting children from inappropriate material on the Internet?
  • Are regulations needed to protect children on the Internet, and what policies might encourage children to use the Internet in safe and appropriate ways?
  • How should nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, and parents be working together to create a safe environment for kids to use the Internet?
  • How should we be thinking about linking research, policy, and practice?


A.4.

 

PLENARY MEETING OF MARCH 7-9, 2001



Excite@Home
450 Broadway
Redwood City, California

Wednesday, March 7

Basic Concepts in Information Retrieval

  • Nick Belkin
  • David D. Lewis
  • Hinrich Schutze, Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University
  • David Forsyth, UC Berkeley
  • Ray Larson, UC Berkeley School of Information Management and Systems

Issues for Discussion

  • Stability of content categorization
  • Automatic text categorization
  • Machine-aided text understanding
  • Vision and image recognition
  • Search engine technology

Filters

  • Susan Getgood, Surf Control, Inc
  • James Wang, Penn State University
  • Bennett Hazelton, Peacefire

Questions for discussion

  • What techniques can be used to identify sexually explicit material?
  • How do filter vendors select the content they screen?
  • What flexibility do their products offer?
  • What is involved in circumventing the filtering provisions?
  • How is the performance of a product measured? (rates of false positives, false negatives)

Authentication and Age Verification

  • Eddie Zeitler, Lambert and Associates
  • Fred Cotton, Search.org
  • Deirdre Mulligan, UC Berkeley

Business Models

Models for Kid-Friendly and Kid-Safe Internet Businesses

  • Brian Pass, MediaOne
  • Irv Shapiro, Edventions, Inc.

Questions for Discussion

  • What are the primary challenges of building a business based on the idea of attracting kids to safe and appropriate Internet content?
  • What is the business case for firms operating in this space?
  • What role do responsible adults (parents, teachers, librarians, and so on) play?
  • How do you deal with the issue of inappropriate material?*

Business Models Based on Advertising and Ad Tracking

  • Chris Kelly, Excite@Home

Questions for Discussion

  • How do business models based on the sale of Web advertising work?
  • What techniques are used to filter out those with a low probability of buying from those with higher probabilities of buying?
  • What drives the cost structure of such businesses?

Thursday, March 8

Rights Management Technology

  • David Maher, Intertrust, Inc.
  • John Blumenthal, @Stake, Inc.

Issues for Discussion

  • The technology of digital rights management systems
  • Infrastructure needed to support rights management systems
  • Application of rights management systems to restricting distribution of material

Usenet Newsgroups and the World Wide Web

  • Dan Geer

Developmental Progressions and Sexuality

  • John Gagnon, SUNY Stony Brook
  • Pepper Schwartz, University of Washington
  • Elizabeth Casparian, independent consultant

Questions for Discussion

  • How does developmental progression affect the appropriateness of exposing a minor to sexually explicit material?
  • What types of material may be harmful according to children's growth and developmental needs, and how may harmful affects change with age and developmental milestone?
  • How should developmental issues shape efforts to protect kids from inappropriate sexually explicit material?

Approaches to regulating sexually explicit material on the Internet

  • Larry Lessig

.XXX domains (by videoconference)

  • Donald Eastlake, Motorola

Public Testimony from Birds of a Feather (BOF) Session with CFP, by Videoconference


A.5.

 

SITE VISIT TO AUSTIN, TEXAS, APRIL 3-4, 2001



Attendees from the National Research Council

  • Linda Hodge
  • Marilyn Mason
  • Herb Lin (staff)
  • Daniel Llata (staff)

Tuesday, April 3

Pflugerville: John Connally High School

  • Session with teachers/administrators/school librarians/technologists
  • Session with students

Cepeda Branch Library

  • Session: librarians and technical managers
  • Session: youth group leaders, teachers, program directors

Open Session at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel North

  • Parents and PTA members
  • School board members
  • Other adults

Wednesday, April 4

Visit to Settlement Home

  • Panel session with students
  • Panel session with teachers/school administrators


A.6.

 

SITE VISIT TO BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA, MAY 8-9, 2001



Attendees from the National Research Council

  • Richard Thornburgh
  • Sandra Calvert
  • Linda Hodge
  • Robin Raskin
  • Herb Lin (staff)
  • Gail Pritchard (staff)

Tuesday, May 8

Blacksburg Middle School

  • Session with students
  • Session with teachers and school administrators

Christiansburg High School

  • Session with librarians and technical managers
  • Session with instructional supervisors and teachers of technology courses

Blacksburg Electronic Village

  • Discussion with director

Wednesday, May 9

Blacksburg High School

  • Session with teachers and school administrators
  • Session with students


A.7.

 

SITE VISIT TO GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, APRIL 17-18, 2001



Attendees from the National Research Council

  • Father William J. Byron
  • Linda Hodge
  • Bob Schloss
  • Herb Lin (staff)
  • Daniel Llata (staff)

Tuesday, April 17

Mauldin Middle School

  • William Harner, District Superintendent
  • Session with students
  • Session with teachers and school administrators

W. Jack Greer Library of Mauldin

  • Beverly James, Executive Director of Greenville County Library System
  • Session with librarians and technical managers

Phillis Wheatley Association

  • Session with youth group leaders
  • Session with students

Open Session at W. Jack Greer Library of Mauldin

  • Boards of Trustees, Greenville County Library System
  • Representatives of School District of Greenville County
  • PTSA representatives

Wednesday, April 18

Greenville Senior High Academy of Academic Excellence

  • Ginger Stuart, Interim Principal
  • Session with students
  • Session with teachers and school administrators


A.8.

 

SITE VISIT TO CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, MAY 31-JUNE 1, 2001



Attendees from the National Research Council

  • Nick Belkin
  • Herb Lin (staff)
  • D.C. Drake (staff)

Thursday, May 31

Coral Gables High School

  • Session with students (mostly juniors and sophomores)
  • Session with teachers and school administrators

Boys and Girls Club, Kendall Branch

  • Session with students
  • Session with administrators and instructors

Open Session at Coral Reef Senior High School

  • PTA representatives
  • Other parents


A.9.

 

SITE VISIT TO SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, APRIL 26-27, 2001



Attendees from the National Research Council

  • David Forsyth
  • Geoffrey Stone
  • Gail Pritchard (staff)
  • Joah Iannotta (staff)

Thursday, April 26

Utah Education Network (UEN)

  • Sessions with UEN administrators and technologists

Meeting with Paula Houston, Complaints Ombudsman, Obscenity and Pornography, Office of the Utah Attorney General

Salt Lake City Library

  • Session with librarians, technical managers
  • Session with Library Teen Advisory Panel

Open Session at Salt Lake City Library

Friday, April 27

Tooele High School

  • Sessions with Students
  • Session with Teachers/School Administrators


A.10.

 

SITE VISIT TO SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, MAY 2-3, 2001



Attendees from the National Research Council

  • Linda Hodge
  • Janet Schofield
  • Winnie Wechsler
  • Herb Lin (staff)
  • Gail Pritchard (staff)

Wednesday, May 2

Rancho Bernardo High School

  • Session with students from the high school
  • Session with students from Bernardo Heights Middle School
  • Session with high school teachers, school administrators, and school librarians

Casa Familiar Community Program

  • Session with Casa Familia staff
  • Session with Casa Familia Students
  • Session with Casa Familia youth group leaders, instructors, technical managers

El Cajon Library

  • Session with librarians, technical managers

Open Session in El Cajon Library Community Room

Thursday, May 3

Lincoln High School

  • Session with high school students


A.11.

 

SITE VISIT TO SHELTON, REDDING, BRISTOL, KENT, AND HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT, JUNE 1-2, 2001



Attendees from the National Research Council

  • Dan Geer
  • Linda Hodge

Friday, June 1

Joel Barlow High School in Redding, Connecticut

  • Panel session with parents & community members

Shelton Intermediate School in Shelton, CT

  • Session with teachers, school administrators, librarians, technical managers, resource officers
  • Session with middle school students

Bristol Board of Education Offices in Bristol, CT

  • Session with principals, teachers, public librarians, students, technical managers

Open session at Kent Center School in Kent, CT

  • Session with local education policy makers, parents

Saturday, June 2

Connecticut State PTA Office

  • Session with parents











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Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences
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