The GetNetWise Blog is a new, periodic instructional blog dedicated to helping families and computer users make their Internet use safer and more rewarding. The GNW Blog will draw from the tremendous encyclopedic resources available at GetNetWise and provide actionable tips on Internet safety and security. The Blog will also present the many instructional Internet safety “how-to” video tutorials featured on GetNetWise with additional notes and context.

The Internet has transformed our lives and the lives of our children. The core mission of the GNW Blog is to empower users to harness the power of the Internet and provide them the basic literacy skills need to do so safely, privately and securely. The GNW Blog offers only help and instruction, not value judgments. We hope you will become regular readers and refer your friends, families and colleagues to the blog.

Please visit the GetNetWise Blog at http://www.getnetwise.org/blog/ that already contains two entries complete with video tutorials: the first one on using password protection in Apple OS X, and another on making social networking sites more private. Be sure to add our RSS feed to your preferred RSS reader.

The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee in collaboration with the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara School of Law cordially invites you to attend the 2nd Annual State of the Net West Conference on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008, at Santa Clara University School of Law, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The discussion will feature leaders of the Congressional Internet Caucus, including Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Congressman Mike Honda, and Congressman Bob Goodlatte. Other participants will include West Coast academic scholars, public interest advocates, and industry executives during a series of discussions on current, important technology policy issues. State of the Net West is designed to channel West Coast thought leadership from the academic community and private sector to help inform the technology policy issues being debated in Washington.

The State of the Net West Conference allows for bicoastal networking and dialogue on key policy issues to take place in the heart of Silicon Valley. Participate in lively debates exploring the following topics:

• “Will Our Reputations and Privacy Survive the Age of Social Networking?”
• “Can ISP Immunity Survive the Onslaught of Web 2.0?”
• “The Movement of Information from the Crowd to the Cloud”

The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee hosts the annual “State of the Net Conference” in Washington to frame many of the technology policy debates that Congress grapples with throughout the year. State of the Net has grown into the largest and most influential information technology policy conference in the country to discuss technology trends and the enormous challenges that lawmakers, industry leaders, and citizens must confront and resolve. While the State of the Net Conference has been an unmitigated success at framing the debate in Washington, an infusion of intellectual capital from the West Coast significantly enhances the State of the Net discussions.

The 2008 State of the Net West conference will bring technology to the forefront of the policy debate, while adding in new developments, perspectives, and ideas to the discussions. The event will incorporate panel discussions by prominent speakers and tech policy experts covering various topics of concern.

WHEN: Wednesday, August 6th, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Santa Clara Law School, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California 95053

RSVP: This event is open and free to the public. However, registration is required since lunch will be served. Please visit http://www.netcaucus.org/events/2008/sotnwest/ for registration and other information.

This is a widely attended event hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (ICAC), part of a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The ICAC is a private-sector organization comprised of public interest groups, trade associations, non-profits, and industry leaders. The diversity of ICAC membership ensures that all educational events and initiatives are fair and balanced forums for Internet-related discussion. The ICAC does not promote any particular legislative position.

New Poll Indicates a Majority Feel Social Networking Eroding Kids’ Respect for Privacy; Few Adults Strongly Believe They Are Cyber Secure.

Washington, DC, Jun. 12 - On the heels of the release of new Zogby poll data on Internet Safety, Congressional policymakers and members of the online safety community have formed a “National Partnership for Safe Computing” to promote better awareness of online safety and cyber security.

The launch of the National Partnership for Safe Computing will bring online safety advocates, educators, and industry, together with Members of Congress to engage Americans on the topic of online safety and security. This pro-active solution to online threats is driven by promoting and facilitating education for parents and families.  Speakers including Congresswoman Melissa Bean, Congressman Frank Wolf, and Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour from the Federal Trade Commission will make supporting comments for the National Partnership preceding the second annual Town Hall Open House in the U.S. Capitol.

“The Partnership demonstrates not only the leadership of the private sector but also those Members of Congress who have rolled up their sleeves to help Internet users and parents across America take control of their online experiences,” said Tim Lordan, Executive Director of the National Partnership for Safe Computing.

The Zogby poll results demonstrate that parents are concerned about the effect of social networking sites on their children’s privacy and illustrates some confusion on where to turn to for advice on parenting in the digital age.

Among the poll results:

* The poll information indicates that many feel that the Internet and social networking are fundamentally changing youth’s concepts of privacy. As social networking becomes further integrated into the culture of youth, the results of this are manifesting in the changing of social norms.  A majority (72.2%) of individuals agreed that the Internet, specifically social networking, is eroding younger people’s respect for their own personal privacy.

* While social networking may be seen as eroding youth’s respect for privacy, social networking is not without a possible positive role in safe computing. When asked where they would turn first to get information about Internet safety, more than twice as many parents responded that they would turn to friends (27.7%) over law enforcement (11.5%).

* Underscoring the emphasis for expanding conversations surrounding safe computing in the home, a majority of individuals (72.3%) indicated that their families have had conversations about the Internet and safety issues. Despite the fact that many have had conversations surrounding the Internet and safety issues, a smaller percentage (65.6%) feel that they are actually protected from online fraud. Of the 65.6% that responded the felt they are protected from online fraud, only 13.7% responded that they strongly felt this way.

National Partners for Safe Computing:

Honorary Congressional Partners
Representative Melissa Bean (IL-8)
Representative Frank Wolf (VA-10)
Representative Thelma Drake (VA-2)
Representative Bob Goodlatte (VA-6)
Representative J. Randy Forbes (VA-4)
Representative Mark Kirk (IL-10)
Representative Randy Kuhl (NY-29)
Representative Lamar Smith (TX-21)

Private Sector Partners
American Library Association
AT&T
Comcast
Common Sense Media
ConnectSafely.com
CyberSmart!
Federal Trade Commission
GetNetWise
i-SAFE
iKeepSafe
National Cyber Security Alliance
NCTA/Cable in the Classroom
Qwest Communications
TRUSTe
Verizon
Web Wise Kids

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About the Survey:

The Zogby poll surveyed adults with children under 18 years old from 6/6/08 through 6/9/08 nationwide. It has a margin of error of +/- 1.7 percent. Communications firm 463 Communications helped conceive and develop the survey and the poll was made possible with generous support from Comcast Communications and Qwest Communications.

On May 15, 2008 The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee held a luncheon panel discussion featuring former Federal Trade Commission officials and Federal Communication Commission officials discussing how much authority, if any, those agencies have to police alleged “Net Neutrality” problems — should they arise. The panel, aptly titled “Net Neutrality: Who’s the Cop and What Type of a Stick Does She Carry?”, detailed and debated the scope of enforcement authority and remedies available to the FTC, FCC and, perhaps, public opinion.

The audio from the standing-room only congressional briefing on is now available online. Click here to listen to the MP3 audio file.

The briefing was held in the room HC5 of the U.S. Capitol Building and was moderated by Rebecca Arbogast of Stifel Nicolaus. Ms. Arbogast deftly navigated a panel of former FTC and FCC officials through how much authority those agencies have to police alleged “Net Neutrality” problems. Our thanks to the moderator and to the panelists.

The panelists were:

* Rebecca Arbogast , Stifel Nicolaus (Moderator)
* Dan Caprio, DC Strategies, LLC
* Kyle Dixon, Kamlet Shepherd
* Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Furchtgott-Roth Economic Enterprises
* Christine Varney , Hogan & Hartson

Today IEF Executive Director Tim Lordan addressed the Federal Trade Commission’s “Mobile Marketplace” hearing on Location-Based Services.The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee has a long history of addressing the location based privacy and safety issues (See Wireless Task Force). Lordan applauded the Commission on it’s efforts to bring itself up to speed on the mobile and location issues. The Commission can serve an extremely important oversight role in an extremely rapidly evolving marketplace.

Also, Lordan announced the 2nd annual “Location Privacy and Safety Summit” in October 2008 in Washington, DC. The Summit will be hosted with George Washington University Law School and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. The summit will bring together key industry players, academics, NGOs and government policymakers.

American Public Media’s “Future Tense” program featured IEF Executive Director Tim Lordan in a segment called “Americans more comfortable when kids go online” on April 16, 2008. The segment discussed changing attitudes toward kids’ using social networking sites. An MP3 of the segment can be downloaded here. Future Tense is hosted by Jon Gordon and is aired throughout the United States and Canada.

Today Executive Director Tim Lordan taped a segment for ABC News regarding our recent poll regarding the changing U.S. attitudes toward young people using social networking sites and chat rooms. Our poll data indicated that Americans’ concern over kids’ use of technology is rapidly evolving. We understand the segment will appear on various ABC News outlets this evening and throughout the week. The broadcast also included interesting polling information from an earlier release that illustrated Americans’ changing views of privacy.

Yesterday National Public Radio aired a pair of very balanced stories on middle and high school students’ expectations of online privacy and attitudes toward safety. The pieces were very balanced and also provided parents help in dealing with their kids’ online experiences. The second segment of the show directed parents to GetNetWise.org for advice. Over the years we have spent a great deal of time addressing the issues related to the churning state of youth expectations of privacy. GetNetWise’s Social Networking Spotlight helps parents can learn more about making social networking profiles more private.

NPR’s Two Part Series:

* Digital Culture: Teens Take Advantage of Online Privacy Tools (6:37)
* Digital Culture: Teens’ Online “Friends” Often Number in the Hundreds (6:13)

We are pleased that the Telegraph, one of the UK’s leading news papers, has listed GetNetWise.org as one of it’s “101 Most Useful Web sites” this past week. In fact, GetNetWise comes in as number seven. This honor is similar to past acknowledgments by PC Magazine listing GetNetWise as one of the “Top 100 Classic Web sites“. We are delighted to share this recognition with our supporters, friends and colleagues.

On the policymaker education side of IEF Tim Lordan was asked by Federal Trade Commission staff to participate in a “roundtable discussion on phishing education” today, April 1, 2008. The FTC drew in experts on cyber security and consumer education for the event at their New Jersey Avenue meeting space.

Later in the month Tim Lordan will address the FTC’s “Mobile Marketing” Town Hall meeting on the topic of location privacy and safety. The Internet Caucus Advisory Committee has developed significant expertise in this area by looking at location issues since 2001. The ICAC hosted a major summit on the topic last year and is planning a follow-up location privacy and safety event this coming year.

Zogby/463 Nationwide Survey Exposes Americans’ Concern Over Kids’ Use of Technology Rapidly Evolving

Washington, DC, March 31, 2008 - A new nationwide survey shows that Americans have a growing comfort level with young people using Internet technologies such as social networking sites, chat rooms and email. The survey - conducted by Zogby International on behalf of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee and 463 Communications - still shows large numbers of Americans concerned about the online activity of young people but those views are rapidly changing.

The survey compares results to a similar study conducted last year for the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee. In the 2008 survey, 27.7 percent of Americans said that social networking sites and chat rooms should be restricted to adults. Yet this was a dramatic decline from an identical 2007 survey in which 35.3 percent said that only adults should participate in social networking and chat sites. In contrast, seniors over age 70 still feel strongly concerned regarding social networking sites. The percentage of seniors who believed that children should wait until their adult years before chatting and social networking actually increased from 34.6 percent in 2007 to 38.3 percent in 2008.

More results from the surveys:

* The percentage of Americans who thought children should not have access to email until they were adults dropped from a sizable 14.7 percent in 2007 to an almost negligible 2.4 percent in 2008.

* The percentage of those who thought that children should wait until adulthood before surfing the Web dropped from 17.4 percent in 2007 to 4.2 percent in 2008.

“The survey results suggest that Americans are increasingly accepting greater use of new online technologies by our young people,” said Tim Lordan, executive director. “Yet the survey shows that it may take some time for many Americans to become comfortable with how kids are social networking and chatting.”

Despite an evolving comfort level with youth use of the Internet, the survey revealed significant concerns with social networking technologies. For instance, a significant majority of those surveyed, 63.2 percent, believed that children under 16 years old should not have use social networking sites and chat rooms. In contrast most of the major social networking sites today prohibit users less than 14 years old.

The 2008 Zogby poll surveyed 3,585 adults and was conducted from January 21-23. It has a margin of error of +/- 1.7 percent. The 2007 Zogby poll surveyed 1,200 adults and was conducted from January 24-26. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent. 463 Communications helped conceive and develop the survey.

About the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee: The Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (ICAC) is a diverse group of public interest, non-profit and industry groups working to educate the Congress and the public about important Internet-related policy issues. The ICAC is a project of the Internet Education Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization. http://www.netcaucus.org/

More about Zogby International can be found at http://www.zogby.com/

More about 463 Communications can be found at http://www.463.com/

For more information, contact: Tim Lordan, 202-638-4370 ext 323, tlordan@netcaucus.org