Britain creates new web watchdog

In the United Kingdom, the Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) has been created to teach children about web dangers, target harmful net content, and establish a code of conduct for sites featuring material uploaded by users.

The council, which will report to the prime minister, will have a membership of more than 100 organizations, including technology companies such as Microsoft and Google, websites such as Facebook, and mobile phone companies. Their goal is to create a child internet safety strategy that will establish a public awareness safety campaign, establish measures to protect children and young people, promote responsible advertising to children online, and establish voluntary codes of practice for web sites.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown noted that it will be a "...challenge for us is to make sure young people can use the internet safely and do so with the minimum of restrictions but the maximum of opportunities."