RESEARCH LITERATURE OVERVIEW

Transcription

1 RESEARCH LITERATURE OVERVIEW Prepared for the Board of Directors of ATVOD Keywords: Child online safety, internet safety, consumer behaviour on the internet, consumer experience of video on demand, online media literacy, consumer expectations with regard to regulation, consumers exposure to harmful content online, children s access to harmful materials, child protection, parental controls, age-verification and content access controls Note: This is a brief literature overview of the most important current pieces of research in the areas listed above, without any claims that this is comprehensive or complete. The research resources did not allow an in-depth review of all the relevant literature in this area, this overview represents merely a brief snapshot. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There is very little focused research which centres on video-on demand services on the internet or more specifically on on-demand programme services. The only specific example found was the 2009 research report commissioned by Ofcom The regulation of video-on-demand: consumer views on what makes audiovisual services TV-Like 1 Preventing access by children to harmful content through technological means (filtering and blocking) can take different forms. The two most obvious methods are: (i) rating, age verification and blocking obligations on ODPS providers (content access control) and (ii) parental access control using blocking and filtering of certain categories of content at internet access level, at device level, at platform level etc. It is helpful to distinguish clearly between content access control by content providers and parental access control. They are complementary, but separate. There is very little research on age-verification methods and access control by content providers and parental access controls, the options available and the impact of such access control mechanisms. Access control mechanisms are likely to have negative impacts on business models and on the opportunities offered to children by the internet and negative impacts on the freedom of speech of children. The most extensive study to date is the 2009 Research Report by the Berkman Center/Harvard focusing largely on the US and social networking. 2 There is some recent empirical research on children s internet access, their online (and other media) activities, their exposure to risky content and online behaviour and children s and parents attitudes on online safety, see for example the LSE Study (Sonia Livingstone et al, UK Kids Online (December 2010) and EU Kids Online (September 2011) 3 ) and the latest Ofcom Report on Media Literacy (Children and Parents: media use Page 1 of 23

2 and attitudes report, Research Document Ofcom published 25. October 2011) 4 - see brief statistical summaries below. For example, it appears from both studies: o that children use a variety of devices to access the internet (home computers/laptops/tablets, mobile phones, games consoles) which make the question of use of parental control filters complicated, as filters would have to be installed across multiple devices and/or multiple services levels (search engine, applications, platforms, broadcaster etc). o the use of mobile devices on the go and access at a friend s home also means that parents monitoring and supervision strategies may be undermined. o that parents do carry out different forms of internet safety checks/parental controls, ranging from talking to their children, monitoring and physical supervision as well as technical blocking & filtering and tracking of websites. Technical blocking and filtering are relatively unpopular, both at device and platform level (figures range from 54%-40%, lower figures for games consoles 12% or certain platforms such as Youtube 28%). One in Twenty (5%) of parents have not done anything to help their children stay safe on the internet. o detailed research into what type of risky or harmful content children are accessing online raises obvious ethical implications, as the research in itself may point out to children the availability of certain types of content- hence it is difficult to get a clear picture and even more difficult to understand the long-term psychological effect. Furthermore, no figures are available specifically in respect of video-on demand. This is despite the fact that watching videos online is one of the most popular online activities (75% of children). o The general figures for children accessing images of a sexual nature online (11%) and seen something that is worrying, nasty or offensive (13%) are fairly low. o Perhaps surprisingly the vast majority of parents seem fairly laid back about the content accessed by their children online, with only 23% stating that they are concerned about the content on the websites their children visit (Ofcom Report), even though according to the LSE Study 30% of parents are aware that their children may well have seen sexual images on a website. A more detailed survey of parental attitudes and beliefs in respect of video on demand would be helpful, to see, for example whether there is widespread ignorance about the type of contents available, or whether parents believe that their children would not access such content or would be able to develop coping strategies to deal with the psychological implications. This research should also encompass parents attitudes and expectations as to regulation of video-on-demand. There is a large body of literature on media literacy and consumer behaviour and children s media consumption in general and the effect of exposure to violence and pornography and more generally on how beliefs and attitudes are shaped by the media. One theme of this literature is that the current debate has been too polarised between on the one hand paternalist, child protection and attitudes about harm and, on the other 4 Page 2 of 23

3 hand, adults rights to freedom of expression- more recent literature (Powell, Levesque, Byron) emphasizes a more differentiated approach examining children s developmental needs and their need for risk-taking and their rights to use the opportunities offered by the internet and considering strengthening children s resilience to risky content by education. There is a growing body of research on the impact of the internet both positive (in terms of opportunities) and negative (in terms of risks of harm and harm)- in the UK led by the Report by Tanya Byron and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. This, however has a very wide scope, and for example the issue of age-verification is very much work-inprogress. RELEVANT STATISTICS OF NOTE EU Kids Online: UK Report (December 2010) Online activities and exposure to sexual content Top activities are schoolwork (92%), playing games (83%), watching video clips (75%) and social networking (71%) 13% say that they have encountered something online that made them feel uncomfortable, upset or feel that they should not have seen it 24% of 9-16 year old say that they have seen sexual images in the past year (online and offline) However, rather fewer - 11% - of UK children have encountered sexual images on websites. The figure was highest for year old boys, 22% of whom have seen sexual images on websites; but only 13% for year old girls. 6% of boys and 3% of girls in the 9-12 age range have seen sexual images on websites. 8% of UK year olds say they have seen online sexual images involving nudity, 6% have seen images of someone having sex, 6% have seen someone s genitals online and 2% say they have seen violent sexual images. Parental attitudes and methods of control Among children who have seen online sexual images, 41% of parents say their child has not seen this, while 30% recognise that they have and 29% say they don t know. UK parents talk to their children about what they do on the internet (74%), which is the most popular way to actively mediate children s internet use. Monitoring strategies are adopted by over half (55%) of UK parents, making this fairly common. 54% of parents block or filter websites and track the websites visited by the children (46%), according to their children - these findings are far higher than in Europe generally, coming at the top of the country ranking for use of filters. However this means that just under half (46%) do not filter their children s internet access. Page 3 of 23

4 However, 56% of children think that parental mediation limits what they do online, 13% saying it limits their activities a lot. Three quarters of UK children (74%) do not simply ignore parental mediation, this being above the European average (64%). However, 20% say they ignore their parents mediation a little and 6% of children say they ignore their parents mediation a lot. Factors limiting parental control 52% of UK children (9-16) go online in their bedroom or other private room and 57% go online at a friend s house 59% of UK children access the internet by a handheld, mobile device A third of children claim to be able to change filtering preferences Ofcom Report Children and Parents (25. October 2011) Usage Children aged are now more likely to say they would miss their mobile phone (28%) or the internet (25%) than television (18%). Almost one third (31%) of 5-15s watch TV via an online catch-up service on their PC/laptop, such as the BBC iplayer or ITV Player. Children s and Parents concerns Parents of 5-15s are most likely to be concerned about the television content their child watches (31%), compared to internet content (23%), mobile phones (16%), games (19%) or radio (5%). In relation to pre-watershed TV viewing, the top spontaneous (unprompted) concerns among all parents surveyed were: violence (20%), unsuitable content of a sexual nature (21%) and offensive language (17%) 23% of parents were concerned about the content on websites their child visits Among 8-11s, 23% say they don t like seeing things online that either make them feel sad, frightened and embarrassed, or that are too old for them. This compares to 15% of 12-15s. When asked about their own particular experiences online, 13% of 12-15s said that they had seen something online in the past year that is worrying, nasty or offensive. This compares to 8% of 8-11s. Parental controls Households with a multichannel television service (95% of all 5-15s) are now more likely to have access controls through a PIN or password since 2010 ( % vs. 36%). Parental controls are unlikely to be in place for either handheld games players (12%) or games consoles connected to a television (15%). There has been no change since 2010 in the incidence of internet controls or filtering software being in place; accounting for four in ten (39%) households where a child aged 5-15 uses the internet at home. However, since 2008 there has been a Page 4 of 23

5 decline in the incidence of controls/filters. Fewer than half of those whose child uses each type of service have safe settings in place for search engine websites (47%), the YouTube website (28%) or UK TV broadcasters websites (18%). Across all these types of technical parental controls, six in ten (59%) parents of 5-15s say they have at least one of these in place. Over half (54%) of parents of 5-15s say they have rules about the internet related to active supervision, with parents of 5-7s (63%) and 8-11s (61%) being more likely to do so than parents of 12-15s (42%). This has increased since Four in five parents of 5-15s say they have spoken with their child about staying safe online (83%) One in four parents (27%) of children who use the internet at home use a combination of any of the technical parental controls, and have rules relating to supervising their child s internet use and say they have talked to their child about staying safe online. One in twenty (5%) do none of these things, and a further 15% have only talked to their child about staying safe. Limitations to parental control 43% of 12-15s have PC/laptop internet access in their bedroom compared to 14% of 8-11s and one in twenty (4%) of 5-7s. Use of a mobile phone to go online at home has increased since 2010 among children aged ( % vs. 23%) and 8-11 (2011 9% vs. 4%). Since 2010, children are less likely to use the internet on their own (32% vs. 36%) and more likely to use it in the presence of an adult (59% vs. 55%). LITERATURE OVERVIEW The aim of the review was to identify evidence and materials related to areas specified below. This includes research reports, surveys, studies as well as academic papers, articles and books. Screening of potential evidence considered the type and quality of evidence, the country of origin of the research and the year of publication. The review focuses on media content, with emphasis on video on demand and prioritises materials relating to consumers and providers in the UK, including European studies; empirical evidence, published from 2006 onwards. Where the full reports of studies were not available, executive summaries, abstracts, data reports or press releases presenting the findings of research were included. Research material has been collected from a variety of sources, including web searches (Google Scholar, Google Books), government, public bodies, charities and institutions (Ofcom, Family Online Safety Institute, UK Council for Child Internet Safety, UK Department of Education, UK Department of Culture Media and Sport, EU Safer Internet Programme, Economic and Social Research Council, ECOSOC, Children s charities coalition for internet safety, Internet Watch Foundation), University research projects (LSE, Oxford Internet Institute), library databases (UCL Library Services, COPAC, the British Education Index). Page 5 of 23

6 SUMMARY Overall, there is a variety of literature available on online safety, especially focusing on children and adolescents. The literature addresses the main risks, such as privacy issues, sexual offenses, or cyber-bullying. These risks are associated with common activities like social networking, web searching and playing online games. I found a very limited number of studies relating directly to video-on-demand problematic. Consumer experiences and consumer expectations do not appear as a central focus in noneconomic studies. 1. Consumer behaviour - what type of content do children and adults access and their reaction Marshall, D. Understanding Children as Consumers, Sage Publications Ltd, 2010/Book What drives children as consumers? How do advertising campaigns and branding effect children and young people? How do children themselves understand and evaluate these influences? Whether fashion, toys, food, branding, money - from TV adverts and the supermarket aisle, to the internet and peer trends, there is a growing presence of marketing forces directed at and influencing children and young people. How should these forces be understood, and what means of research or dialogue is required to assess them? With critical insight, the contributors to this collection take up the evaluation of the child as an active consumer, and offer a valuable rethinking of the discussions and literature on the subject. How people assess online content and services, DUCKFoOT Research Ltd. for Ofcom, 2009; available at The main purpose of this exploratory qualitative research is to examine how people assess the veracity, trustworthiness, independence and balance of online content and services. A secondary purpose is to explore how perceptions about the presence or absence of online regulation may underpin or influence people s online behaviour. The report is not limited to a one specific type of online content. The research revealed that the majority of participants value the Internet highly, however they are able to see its negative sides as well. They identified a range of concerns, primarily for their own and their family's online safety. In terms of participants awareness and understanding of regulation, most did not think that the Internet was formally regulated. There was also a perception that the people or organisations that provide specific online services or content were responsible for making sure that users can trust sites and be safe online. In addition, users of sites who contribute content (such as Facebook) were expected to show common sense, Page 6 of 23

7 integrity and respect towards other members of the online community. In contrast, most participants were aware that television is formally regulated. They felt that television regulation is important because it involves mass and diverse audiences sharing public events and once broadcast it is too late to rectify if there is a problem. The regulation of video-on-demand: consumer views on what makes audiovisual services TV-Like a qualitative research report, Essential Research for Ofcom, 2009; available at This research was carried out in anticipation of the implementation of the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive. In light of the use of the phrase TV-like in the AVMS Directive, Ofcom commissioned and carried out this qualitative research study in order to gain an understanding of what consumers consider to be TV-like material and what their expectations are in terms of the key characteristics of such material. Awareness and usage of online VOD services was largely restricted to the major broadcaster catch-up services, such as BBC iplayer, ITV Player and 4oD. Many VOD users accessed other VOD services online, such as YouTube. On the whole, VOD in general terms was regarded by participants as simply another option for managing TV viewing, together with Personal Video Recorder (PVR) services and +1 channels. The drivers of whether a service was considered TV-like were numerous, complex and often interlocking. The most important drivers tended to relate to content; however, the manner in which content was packaged (i.e. service provider and content presentation) was also a significant theme. What consumers want from TV/video solutions, White Paper, Ericsson, 2009; available at This white paper addresses the topic of TV/video services as seen from a consumer perspective. It is a broad study covering both offline and online services. It makes proposals for regulators, players in the telecommunication industry and other service providers how to satisfy consumer demand. The best way how to keep consumers satisfied is to give them what they want in terms of price, scope and access to the content. The white paper is backed up by a problem statement from Ericsson ConsumerLab research about consumer behaviour, including how and why consumers watch TV/video, the emergence of digital natives, and other industry trends. The main focus of the analysis is the interplay between traditional and new services, legal and illegal alternatives. The paper concludes that based on consumer behaviour; there are three factors why consumers find the new type of services so attractive. Firstly, it is price. Secondly, it is scope of content and thirdly, it is access to content; consumers want to be able to consume content when, where and how they like, according to their habits and needs. If existing legal alternatives were able to give consumers the same services or options as the illegal ones, the usage of illegal services would be greatly reduced. Page 7 of 23

8 The Digital Video Consumer: Transforming the European Video Content Market, Bain & Company, Liberty Global Policy Series, 2007; available at %20ENGLISH.pdf The report examines which current content consumption trends are relevant for predicting demand and consumption behaviour over the period of 5 years (from 2007 to 2012), and to what extent these consumer behaviour trends impact the business models for the creation, aggregation and distribution of video content in Europe. The data was collected between 2001 and Finally, the report describes how these outcomes relate to certain objectives of European policy. 2. Consumer experience of video on demand on the Internet Consumer Experience Evaluation Report, Ofcom, 2010; available at The annual report summarises the consumer experience of telecoms, the Internet and digital broadcasting markets. It provides the results on how well consumers are faring in respect of: a) Consumer access and take-up - the availability and take-up of communications services (including non-ownership, both voluntary and involuntary); b) Consumer choices, value and range - trends in prices of communications services, consumers' awareness and use of suppliers, and their levels of satisfaction; c) Consumer empowerment - the level of participation in communications markets in terms of switching and shopping around, and use of consumer information; and d) Consumer protection and concerns - complaints, concerns and awareness of complaint procedures. 3. Online media literacy Potter, W. J. Media Literacy, SAGE Publications 2011 BOOK This book offers a detailed approach to studying media influences and presents readers with a clear vision of what it means to operate at a higher level of media literacy. W. James Potter argues that the media have a profound influence on the way we perceive the world by shaping our beliefs and expectations. By becoming more media literate, we can avoid the potentially negative effects of those media messages as well as amplify the potentially positive effects. With substantial discussion of media content, audiences, and the media industries, the book tackles key issues related to media ownership, invasion of privacy, piracy of media messages, violence, and sports. Readers will gain a clearer perspective on the borders between the real world and the simulated media world and will become more informed and literate media consumers. Page 8 of 23

9 Children and Parents: media use and attitudes report Media Literacy, Research Document Ofcom published 25. October The report is designed to give an accessible overview of media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged It also documents the views of parents/carers about their child s media use, and the rules, tools and other ways that parents manage such use. Home internet access among 12-15s (95% 2011 vs. 89% in 2010) and among 8-11s (90% 2011 vs. 86% in 2010) Digital Video Recorder (DVR) ownership has also continued to increase - 66% of children now have one at home, compared to 52% in % of 12-15s have PC/laptop internet access in their bedroom compared to 14% of 8-11s and one in twenty (4%) of 5-7s. Children aged are now more likely to say they would miss their mobile phone (28%) or the internet (25%) than television (18%). Children in each age group spend most time watching TV. For 12-15s the next mostused medium is the internet, while for 5-7s and 8-11s it is gaming. Almost one third (31%) of 5-15s watch TV via an online catch-up service on their PC/laptop, such as the BBC iplayer or ITV Player. Use of a mobile phone to go online at home has increased since 2010 among children aged ( % vs. 23%) and 8-11 (2011 9% vs. 4%). This is driven by an increase in smartphone ownership since 2010 among 12-15s ( % vs. 35%). Younger children are less likely to own a smartphone, accounting for 12% of 8-11s and 2% of 5-7s. Since 2010, children are less likely to use the internet on their own (32% vs. 36%) and more likely to use it in the presence of an adult (59% vs. 55%). Parental concerns about the content on the different media that their child has access to are relatively low. Parents express high levels of trust in their child to use the internet safely. Parents of 5-15s are most likely to be concerned about the television content their child watches (31%), compared to internet content (23%), mobile phones (16%), games (19%) or radio (5%). Levels of concern at the overall level for each medium are unchanged since In relation to pre-watershed TV viewing, the top spontaneous (unprompted) concerns among all parents surveyed were: violence (20%), unsuitable content of a sexual nature (21%) and offensive language (17%) 23% of parents were concerned about the content on websites their child visits Close to one in three (31%) of 8-11s say that they don t like seeing things on television that either make them feel sad, frightened and embarrassed, or that are too old for them. This has increased from 23% in There is no change among 12-15s, with 19% saying this about television. Page 9 of 23

10 Among 8-11s, 23% say they don t like seeing things online that either make them feel sad, frightened and embarrassed, or that are too old for them. This compares to 15% of 12-15s. When asked about their own particular experiences online, 13% of 12-15s said that they had seen something online in the past year that is worrying, nasty or offensive. This compares to 8% of 8-11s. Households with a multichannel television service (95% of all 5-15s) are now more likely to have access controls through a PIN or password since 2010 ( % vs. 36%). Parental controls are unlikely to be in place for either handheld games players (12%) or games consoles connected to a television (15%). There has been no change since 2010 in the incidence of internet controls or filtering software being in place; accounting for four in ten (39%) households where a child aged 5-15 uses the internet at home. However, since 2008 there has been a decline in the incidence of controls/filters. Fewer than half of those whose child uses each type of service have safe settings in place for search engine websites (47%), the YouTube website (28%) or UK TV broadcasters websites (18%). Across all these types of technical parental controls, six in ten (59%) parents of 5-15s say they have at least one of these in place. Over half (54%) of parents of 5-15s say they have rules about the internet related to active supervision, with parents of 5-7s (63%) and 8-11s (61%) being more likely to do so than parents of 12-15s (42%). This has increased since Four in five parents of 5-15s say they have spoken with their child about staying safe online (83%) and a similar proportion say they feel they know enough about how to help their child stay safe online (82%). Nine in ten children aged 8-15 say they have been given information about staying safe online. One in four parents (27%) of children who use the internet at home use a combination of any of the technical parental controls, and have rules relating to supervising their child s internet use and say they have talked to their child about staying safe online. One in twenty (5%) do none of these things, and a further 15% have only talked to their child about staying safe. UK Children's Media Literacy, Ofcom 2011; available at The report is designed to give an accessible overview of media literacy among children and young people aged 5-15 and their parents/carers, and is based on two waves of research, conducted in spring and autumn Where possible, within the sample of children aged 5-15 and their parents, demographic analysis is conducted by age (of the child interviewed), by gender and by household socio-economic group. UK Adult s Media Literacy, Ofcom 2011; available at Page 10 of 23

11 This report is designed to give an accessible overview of media literacy among UK adults aged 16 and over. With respect to online content, four in ten (41%) Internet users now say they ever watch audio-visual content online, an increase from 32% in Most of these users say they watch through UK TV broadcasters websites (37% vs. 29%) such as BBC iplayer, with a much smaller proportion doing so from other websites (13% vs. 11%). More publications on media literacy are available in this section, focusing on parents of under 16s, adults aged 60 and over, young adults, minority groups and so on. For more information 4. Consumer expectations with respect to regulation 5. Consumers exposure to harmful content online Harmful content on the Internet and in video games: tenth report of session : volume 2: oral and written evidence, Great Britain, Parliament, House of Commons, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 2008; available at This report addresses the growing public concern at the Internet's negative impact. Of particular concern are: the easy availability of hardcore pornography, which people may find offensive; the uploading by ordinary people of film of real fights, bullying, or alleged rape; and the setting up of websites encouraging others to follow extreme diets, or self-harm, or even to commit suicide. There is also increasing anxiety among parents about the use of social networking sites and chat rooms for grooming and sexual predation. The Committee welcomes the Governmentcommissioned report by Dr Tanya Byron on the risks posed by the Internet to children and agrees that a UK Council for Child Internet Safety should be established. Sites that host usergenerated content - typically photos and videos uploaded by members of the public - have taken some steps to set minimum standards for that content. The Committee recommends that proactive review of content should be standard practice for such sites and calls for provision of high profile facilities for reporting abuse or unwelcome behaviour directly to law enforcement and support organisations. There is a distinct issue about labelling of video games to indicate the nature of their content. Two systems currently co-exist side by side: the industry awards its own ratings; and the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) awards classifications to a small number of games which feature content unsuitable for children. This dual system is confusing and the Committee recommends that the BBFC should have responsibility for rating games with content appropriate for adults or teenagers. 6. Child Internet safety issues : Children s access online to harmful materials : Child protection Page 11 of 23

12 Livingstone, Sonia and Haddon, Leslie (and others) EU Kids Online Research Report September 2011, part of the EU Kids Online Research Projects, see EU Kids Online aims to enhance knowledge of the experiences and practices of European children and parents regarding risky and safer use of the internet and new online technologies, in order to inform the promotion of a safer online environment for children. This Report is based on empirical research ( )- a face-to-face survey of approximately 25,000 European children and their parents in 25 countries in These are the main findings copied from the Executive Summary: Going online is thoroughly embedded in children s lives Internet use is increasingly individualised, privatised and mobile: 9-16 year old internet users spend 88minutes per day online, on average. 49 per cent go online in their bedroom, 33 per cent go online via a mobile phone or handheld device,and most use the internet at home (87 per cent) and school (63 per cent). Parents recognise that it is valuable for them to engage with their child s internet use, and they employ a wide range of strategies, depending partly on the age of the child. But some parents do not do very much, even for young children, and there are some children who do not want their parents to take more interest. Children are generally positive about their parents actions, although a third says they sometimes ignore what their parents say about using the internet. Parents who practise more restrictive regulation have children who encounter fewer risks and less harm but also fewer online opportunities. 12 per cent of European 9-16 year olds say that they have been bothered or upset by something on the internet but most children do not report being bothered or upset by going online. Exposure to sexual images occurs offline as well as online, but for some children and in some countries it is spreading online; more children who go online via a personal device have seen sexual images or received sexual messages. Children who are older, higher in self-effi cacy and sensation seeking, who do more online activities (ie,are higher on the ladder of opportunities) and who have more psychological problems encounter more risks of all kinds online. But children who are younger, lower in self-effi cacy and sensation seeking, who do fewer online activities, have fewer skills, and who have more psychological problems find online risks more harmful and upsetting. It is important to support children s capacity to cope themselves, thereby building resilience for digital citizens. Children often tell a friend, followed by a parent, when something online upsets them, and they try a range of pro-active strategies online, though these don t always work and some children are more fatalistic in their responses to online harm. The report concludes by debunking the top 10 myths of children and online risk. Page 12 of 23

13 It then offers a series of evidence-based recommendations to governments, industry, parents, educators, awareness raisers, civil society bodies, child welfare organisations and children themselves There is a separate UK Report (December 2010) Byron, T. Safer Children in a Digital World: Report on the Byron Review, 2008, UKCCIS. Available at 20world%20the%202008%20byron%20review.pdf And Byron, T., Do we have safer children in a digital world? A review of progress since the 2008 Byron Review. DCSF This independent review of the risks children face from the internet and video games was carried out by Dr. Byron, a clinical psychologist specialising in child and adolescent mental health. She argues that a discussion about the media causing harm needs to focus on children and young people what they bring to technology and how we can use our understanding of how they develop to empower them to manage risks and make the digital world safer. She recognizes there is a generational digital divide. Parents do not necessarily feel equipped to help their children in this space which can lead to fear and a sense of helplessness. This can be compounded by a risk-averse culture where children are kept indoors despite their developmental needs to socialise and take risks. In relation to the internet she proposes a shared culture of responsibility with families, industry, government and others in the public and third sectors to reduce the availability of potentially harmful material, restrict access to it by children, and to increase children s resilience. She suggests achieving gains in these three areas by having a national strategy for child internet safety which involves better self-regulation and better provision of information and education for children and families. In relation to video games, the parental-control systems already in place need to be improved. This can be achieved by reforming the classification system and pooling the efforts of the games industry, retailers, advertisers, console manufacturers and online gaming providers to raise awareness of what is in games and enable better enforcement. Buckingham, D. The Impact of the Media on Children and Young People with a particular focus on computer games and the internet: Prepared for the Byron Review on Children and New Technology, 2007, Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, Institute of Education, University of London; available at Page 13 of 23

14 This report aims to provide a broad overview of the research literature concerned with the impact of the media on children and young people. It focuses primarily on computer games and the internet, although there is some discussion of research on older media, particularly television. In line with the remit of the Byron Review, the report concentrates on harmful effects; although there is some consideration of beneficial effects as well. The report begins by discussing the broader social and historical context of research on children and media (Section 1). It then moves on to outline a possible typology of media effects (Section 2), and to discuss the contribution of two main research traditions in the field (Section 3). Sections 4 and 5 review previous research on computer games and the internet respectively, while Section 6 considers new and emerging aspects of these phenomena, and their implications for young people. Finally, Section 7 considers the role of media literacy, both in schools and in the home. Spielhofer, T. Children s online risks and safety: A review of the available evidence, 2009, NEFR; available at safety%20nfer% pdf This was a first report commissioned by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety s Expert Research Panel. The report provides a timely mapping of the existing evidence relating to the indicators, prevalence and consequences of online risks to children as well as effective safeguarding measures and regulation across platforms. Research evidence has been collected from a variety of sources, including literature searches of relevant library, web searches, and personal discussions with members of the UKCISS Expert Research Panel, and requests. The main topics investigated as part of the review includes evidence on access and use of the internet by children in the UK, the characteristics of children accessing the internet, the online risks for children and young people, and attempts at safeguarding children s online experiences. Children s and young people s access to online content on mobile devices, games consoles and portable media players, Ofcom, 2009; available at The purpose of this study is to give an overview of children s and young people s reported access to content when using mobile phones, games consoles and portable media players, with a particular focus on experiences of inappropriate content when using these devices to go online. The study was a quantitative survey conducted in March/April 2009 in the UK, comprising 797 face-to-face interviews with children aged 7-16 and their parent/carer. This report presents findings relating to: a) Ownership and use of mobile phones, games consoles and portable media players among children and young people; b) Parents /carers concerns, rules and restrictions about their children s use of these devices;, Page 14 of 23

15 c) Parents /carers awareness of the existence of and use of access controls; d) Children s and young people s experience of encountering inappropriate content; and e) Children s and young people s sources of information about staying safe online and what information they feel is needed; and any further help/support that parents/carers think they need to help keep their children safe online. Parents/carers were asked about the rules they have in place for their child s use of these devices. Overall, parents/carers show low awareness of the existence and use of access controls for mobile phones and games consoles. Very few children and young people say they have encountered content that made them feel uncomfortable, upset, scared or worried, or which they think they were too young to see while using any of the device aforementioned, offline or online. The study also investigated parents /carers and children s and young people s views about online safety in general. When asked whether anyone has ever spoken to them about staying safe online in general, the majority of children and young people say that someone has. Livingstone, S. Children and the Internet: Great Expectations and Challenging Realities, Cambridge: Polity, BOOK This book is addressing issues such as how is the Internet transforming children s lives, whether they benefit from new opportunities, and face new risks at the same time. Instead of applying a techno-celebratory approach, it interprets children s everyday practices of internet use in relation to the complex and changing historical and cultural conditions of modern childhood. This book reveals the complex dynamic between online opportunities and online risks, focusing on areas such as: Digital in/exclusion, Learning and literacy, Peer networking and privacy, Civic participation, and Risk and harm. Livingstone, S., Haddon, L. (Eds.) Kids Online: Opportunities and risks for children, Bristol: The Policy Press, BOOK Children, young people, and their families tend to be at the forefront of new media adoption, benefiting from early experiences to the new opportunities afforded by the internet, mobile and broadband content, online games, and peer-to-peer technologies. However, they also encounter a range of risky or negative experiences for which they may be unprepared. These risks, the everyday contexts in which they occur, and the ways in which they are being addressed, are all subject to continual change. This book examines the opportunities and risks at hand for children who have access to online technology. Each chapter has a distinct pan-european focus. With its unique comparative approach, the book captures the diverse, topical, and timely expertise generated by the EU Kids Online project. Millwood Hargave, A., Livingstone, S. Harm and Offence in Media Content: A review of the evidence, Second edition, Bristol: Intellect, BOOK Page 15 of 23

16 This book presents a significant and comprehensive analysis of the benefits and dangers posed by both established and emergent technologies. Newly updated, this balanced, critical account examines all media, including interactive games, social networking and mobile phones. Many examples specifically focus on the United States, noting the ways in which young people are using new technologies and the partnerships this has given rise to between state governments, media regulators and Internet service providers. Drotner, K., Livingstone, S. (Eds.) The International Handbook of Children, Media and Culture, London: Sage, BOOK This book contains selected articles representing the worldwide young people user-community. The authors offer a rich contextualization of children's engagement with their particular media and communication environment, while also pursuing cross-cutting themes in terms of comparative and global trends. The following articles can be relevant: - Dominique Pasquier: From Parental Control to Peer Pressure: Cultural Transmission and Conformism - David Oswell: Media and Communications regulation and Child Protection: An Overview of the Field - Renee Hobbs: New Visions of Literacy: The Great debates Continue The Protection of Children Online: Risks Faced by Children Online and Policies to Protect Them, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 179, OECD Publishing, 2011; available at This report focuses on online risks for children and policies to protect them as Internet users. It examines direct and indirect policy measures available to OECD member and non-member countries to help mitigate risks for children online in order to present and compare existing and planned policy approaches for the protection of children online; and explore how international co-operation can enhance the protection of minors on the Internet. Three broad categories of online risks for children are considered in this report: i) content and contact risks, including exposure to pornography, cyber-grooming and cyber-bullying; ii) consumer risks related, for example, to online marketing and fraudulent transactions; and iii) privacy and security risks, including the use of social networks without sufficient understanding of potential long-term consequences. Powell, A., Hills, M. and Nash, V. Child Protection and Freedom of Expression Online, Oxford Internet Institute, 2010; available at DISCUSSION PAPER Advocates of online child protection and freedom of expression share a deep-seated belief in the importance of protecting basic human rights. Yet these beliefs are often clouded by perceived (and real) opposition in the actual practice of law, policy, and regulation. This has restricted the Page 16 of 23

17 policy options available for dealing with threats to both child safety and free speech online, and has often resulted in these interests being portrayed as diametrically opposed. At the level of broad rights, child protection and freedom of expression advocates do share some similar values and concerns. Important differences remain about how these values should be balanced, and who should take responsibility for them. By defining a new framework to discuss online child protection that rejects the current moral panics that have dominated the debate, and focuses instead on accurately defining risks in line with the evolving capacity of the child, participants were able to find some common ground. The most fruitful avenues came from calls for precision and transparency in policy responses that touch on these issues. This is a presentation paper of a conference. Public Consultation on Social Networking, Summary Report, 2008, Europe s Information Society; available at ummaryreport.pdf DISCUSSION PAPER The consultation was based on 3 questionnaires structured around themes such as age verification, cross media rating and classification and online social networking. The purpose of the public consultation was to gather the knowledge and views of all relevant stakeholders (including public bodies, child safety and consumer organisations, industry). The most frequently raised concerns were bullying and invasion of privacy of minors. Grooming and other inappropriate, sexually motivated contacts were less likely to be encountered, but were also considered as serious risks. Protection of minors is important, but parental control should not entail a right to cancel or amend accounts without the knowledge or agreement of the account holder. Parents should take a proactive role in overseeing online activity, while respecting their privacy. Social networking service providers should continue to pursue a policy of self-regulation to meet public expectations relating to the protection of minors. However compliance with selfregulation regimes should be independently monitored, with the possibility of certain minimum levels of protection established by law. Respondents agree, that education and awareness is the most important factor in increasing the ability of minors to protect themselves online. Roger JR Levesque Adolescents, Media and the Law Oxford University Press 2007 BOOK This book has at its focus what developmental science shows about children s need for protection and freedom and how this can be squared with the human right to freedom of expression. The author charts the transformation of adults exposure to and influence by media with the arrival of new communications media including the internet and the fact that adolescents now themselves actively have become a source of media content and that adolescents now have private access to interaction with new media and hence more freedom from adult control. The author examines how adolescents develop their identity more outside the traditional family context, as adolescents experience the developmental task of identity development by negotiating relationships with the outer world at an earlier stage, perceived by adolescents as relatively risk free and anonymously and independently from adults. The author Page 17 of 23

18 looks both at positive aspects of this media interaction and the harm to adolescents who lack such media access and potential dangers. He concludes that cutting edge media simply extend adolescents traditional, normal interactions and behaviours, which become abnormal for some, in the sense that contributing to existing harms constitutes one of the biggest dangers. The author states that the leaving the protection of children from harmful online content to adults and industry self-regulation is an inadequate response: during adolescence parental efforts to mediate the effects of televised violence and sex may actually backfire. Such parental efforts lead to less positive attitudes towards parents, more positive attitudes towards the content and more viewing of content with friends. The author finds that adolescents generally rank parents behind peers, schools and popular media as primary sources of information and guidance and parents increasingly limit their own roles as sexuality educators as their children reach adolescents.the author also concludes that filtering and blocking technologies are not effective, as few parents use them and this unpopularity of filtering is also due to the fact that parents technological skills lag behind those of their children and adolescents media savviness actually increases their power in deciding what to view. Rating often has the effect of enticing adolescents to view content rated above their age, especially for boys. The author then examines legal restrictions on harmful content (mostly violent and pornographic) in the US constitutional context and the First Amendment, where any restrictions have been struck down as unconstitutional (Ashcroft v ACLU 2004). The author s thesis is that content regulation is too much focused on the rights of adults without taking into account the developmental needs and rights of adolescents. Children s Charities Coalition on Internet Safety, Briefing on the internet, e- commerce, children and young people DISCUSSION PAPER This is a Position Paper outlining concerns and issues related to data collection from children without parental consent, age restricted goods and services and age-verification (and lack thereof). It recommends that the government undertakes research on the position of children and young people and e-commerce and requiring companies to conduct a child safety audit before offering new services online. Flood, M., The Harms of Pornography Exposure among Children and Young People. Child Abuse Review Vol. 18. Published online in Wiley Science doi/ /car.1092/abstract ARTICLE Exposure to pornography is routine among children and young people, with a range of notable and often troubling effects. Particularly among younger children, exposure to pornography may be disturbing or upsetting. Exposure to pornography helps to sustain young people's adherence to sexist and unhealthy notions of sex and relationships. And, especially among boys and young men who are frequent consumers of pornography, including of more violent materials, Page 18 of 23

19 consumption intensifies attitudes supportive of sexual coercion and increases their likelihood of perpetrating assault. While children and young people are sexual beings and deserve ageappropriate materials on sex and sexuality, pornography is a poor, and indeed dangerous, sex educator. Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 7. Parental control : The use of content rating : Age-verification and content access controls : Filtering and blocking at browser level : What do parents/carers actually use? How effective are these various methods? Price, M. E., Verhulst, S. W. Self-regulation and the Internet, Kluwer International, 2005 BOOK This book concerns the growth of institutions and systems of self-regulation on the Internet. Internet self-regulation involves many issues, including e-commerce, technical protocols, and domain names management, but most public concern and debate has been over illegal and harmful content on the Internet. The book examines how self-regulatory entities for content relate to other quasi-legal and state institutions, what powers are accorded to or seized by selfregulatory institutions, and how the use of self-regulation can contribute to the more effective and more efficient realization of both economic and societal goals. This book offers: a general and theoretical examination of self-regulation, focusing on codes of conduct; approaches to the methodology and process for adopting such codes; descriptions and evaluations of technical devices as self-regulatory tools; and an analysis of Internet self-regulation in a converged and digital environment. The analysis encompasses a wide spectrum, from technical matters of filters and transmission streams to such important legal issues as the possible meanings of such terms as illegal and harmful. Crucial topics include ISP service agreements, anti-spam measures, regulation of hate speech, or digital television. Freedom of Expression on the Internet: Study of legal provisions and practices related to freedom of expression, the free flow of information and media pluralism on the Internet in OSCE participating States, OSCE, Available at OSCE has released its first overview report examining laws regulating use of the Internet in member states, and posits that access to the Internet should be considered a fundamental human right, akin to freedom of expression. The study also argues that Internet blocking and content filtering mandates and technologies are, in most cases, cannot be reconciled with the free flow of information and freedom of expression. For instance, the report is highly critical of existing and planned censorship mechanisms such as government blocking/filtering and threestrikes laws. Akdeniz, Y. To block or not to block: European approaches to content regulation, and implications for freedom of expression, Computer Law & Security Review, Volume 26, Page 19 of 23

20 Issue 3, May 2010, Pages Available at ARTICLE Based on the limited effectiveness of state laws, and lack of harmonization at international level a number of states started to introduce policies to block access to Internet content and websites deemed illegal which are situated outside their legal jurisdiction. However, blocking policies are not always subject to due process principles, decisions are not necessarily taken by the courts of law, and often administrative bodies or Internet hotlines run by the private sector decide which content or website should be subject to blocking. Therefore, increasingly, the compatibility of blocking action is questioned with regards to the fundamental right of freedom of expression. This article assesses significant developments at the pan-european level with regards to the development, and implementation of Internet content blocking policies. Adaptation of content blocking policies from certain member states of both the European Union and the Council of Europe will be used to assess the nature and implementation of access blocking policies. It will be argued that there could be a breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights if blocking measures or filtering tools are used at state level to silence politically motivated speech on the Internet. Livingstone, S., Helsper, E. Parental mediation and children s Internet us, Journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 52 (4), pp , 2008; Available at ARTICLE This article examines parental regulation of children and teenagers' online activities. A national survey of 1511 children and 906 parents found that year-olds encounter a range of online risks. Parents implement a range of strategies, favouring active co-use and interaction rules over technical restrictions using filters or monitoring software, but these were not necessarily effective in reducing risk. Parental restriction of online peer-to-peer interactions was associated with reduced risk but other mediation strategies, including the widely practiced active co-use, were not. These findings challenge researchers to identify effective strategies without impeding teenagers' freedom to interact with their peers online. Valcke, M., De Wevera, B., Van Keera, H., Schellensa, T. Long-term study of safe Internet use of young children, Computers & Education, Volume 57, Issue 1, pp , Available at ARTICLE The Internet is an evolving medium that continuously presents new functionalities. Accordingly, also children s Internet usage changes continuously. This requires being vigilant about related Internet risk behaviour and safe Internet use. The present article presents a structured overview of Internet risks and summarizes approaches to foster safe Internet behaviour. Based on a longterm cross-sectional study, Internet usage of young children has been researched. The focus is on contact risks and content risks. Based on the analysis of survey data from children, trends in their (un)safe Internet usage are studied in the years , , and An Unsafe Internet Usage Index (UIUI) is calculated. The average results point at a Page 20 of 23

21 rather low level of unsafe Internet usage. But these average results hide between-subject differences and a number of children clearly reflect risky unsafe Internet usage. Also, no consistent reduction in unsafe Internet behaviour is being observed over the years. Parental and teacher control hardly increase, and hardly seem to impact the level of unsafe Internet behaviour. Considering a number of limitations of the present study, directions for future research are discussed. Law, D. M., Shapkaa, J. D., Olsona, B. F. To control or not to control? Parenting behaviours and adolescent online aggression, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 26, Issue 6, pp , Available at ARTICLE This study carries out an empirical research in order to test the hypothesis that using software to monitor children s online and computer activities is an effective type of parental control. The authors argue that no empirical research has verified whether this is a viable means for promoting responsible and safe internet use. This study examined the association between parenting behaviours and adolescent online aggression. The sample included 733 adolescents (451 females), between 10 and 18 years, from Western Canada. Participants completed a questionnaire that included questions on internet aggression, and parenting. The parenting questions were modified from Stattin and Kerr s (2000) questionnaire to better suit the online environment. Results revealed two distinct factors: (1) Parent Solicitation (parents ask where child is going on the internet) (2) Child Disclosure (child naturally tells parents what they are doing). Further analysis revealed that having a computer in the bedroom increased the likelihood of engaging in online aggression and that adolescent self-disclosure of online behaviours (and not controlling or monitoring online activities) was negatively associated with online aggression. These findings emphasize the importance of establishing good communication between parents and adolescents rather than investing money on monitoring software and on controlling adolescent internet use. Parents and Internet Safety, Red Eye for Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2009; available at An Ofcom research conducted in 2009 revealed that %57 of parents do not know where to go for online safety information. The Byron Review recommended that one possible solution would be a one-stop online shop for internet safety. However, the DCSF (today the Department of Education) commissioned this research to fully investigate the reasons behind the Ofcom findings. The results that emerged from the research are that, currently, parents do not proactively seek information in relation to online safety. The needs and concerns of parents are common across all profiles, although, ethnicity and culture appear to have some impact. It is the child s age, gender and technical knowledge that are the most important criteria in parental online safety concerns. The research reveals, for example, that filtering software is not a universally used tool. Despite parents willingness to access a range of information, all Page 21 of 23

22 participants stressed that government websites are the most trusted ones. The report concludes that there is a potential for a one-stop online shop for internet safety. Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies, Final Report 2009 Research Report The Internet Safety Technical Task Force was a group of Internet businesses, non-profit organizations, academics, and technology companies that joined together to identify effective tools and technologies to create a safer environment on the Internet for youth. It was created in February 2008 in accordance with the "Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Safety" announced in January 2008 by the US Attorneys General Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking and MySpace. The Task Force was directed by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. It submitted its Final Report to the Attorneys General in December, 2008 which was published in January The research largely, but not exclusively focused on social networking. In respect of harmful content, the literature review found that the Internet increases the availability of harmful, problematic and illegal content, but does not always increase minors exposure. Unwanted exposure to pornography does occur online, but those most likely to be exposed are those seeking it out, such as older male minors. Most research focuses on adult pornography and violent content, but there are also concerns about other content, including child pornography and the violent, pornographic, and other problematic content that youth themselves generate. Minors are not equally at risk online. Those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives. The psychosocial makeup of and family dynamics surrounding particular minors are better predictors of risk than the use of specific media or technologies. The Task Force asked a Technology Advisory Board (TAB) comprising technology experts from a range of backgrounds to solicit and review submissions from vendors and others offering currently available technologies. The TAB received 40 written submissions representing several categories of technologies, including age verification and identity authentication, filtering and auditing, text analysis, and biometrics. In sum, the TAB s review of the submitted technologies leaves the TAB in a state of cautious optimism, with many submissions showing substantial promise. The youth online safety industry is evolving. Many of the technologies reviewed were point solutions rather than broad attempts to address the safety of minors online as a whole. There is, however, a great deal of innovation in this arena as well as passionate commitment to finding workable, reasonable solutions from companies both large and small. The TAB emerged from its review process encouraged by the creativity and productivity apparent in this field. But because some technologies carry an economic cost and some require involvement by parents and teachers, relying on them may not protect society s most vulnerable minors. (from the Executive Summary). 8. Consumer exposure to online content inciting hatred based on race, sex, nationality or religion (children and adults) Page 22 of 23

23 Audience attitudes towards offensive language on television and radio, Synovate UK for Ofcom, 2010; available at Ofcom is required under the Communications Act to draw up a Broadcasting Code which sets out standards for the content of television and radio services. Accordingly, the rules in the Code seek to ensure, in a manner that best guarantees an appropriate level of freedom of expression, that members of the public, and in particular under-eighteens, are adequately protected from the broadcast of harmful and/or offensive material, including potentially offensive language. Ofcom commissioned this survey in order to be informed, and updated, on generally accepted standards relating to offensive language. The research was designed to provide evidence on current levels of tolerance and offence, how perceptions differ by context, and how this varies by different demographic groups within the population, including by age, gender and socioeconomic group. The report focuses on traditional broadcast and does not specifically include online content. There may be a difference in the audience s reaction to offensive language depending on the platform. However, the study can be used for a comparison with digital platforms. Cohen-Almagor, R. Fighting Hate and Bigotry on the Internet, Policy & Internet: Vol. 3: Issue 3, Article 6, 2011; available at ARTICLE Internet hate speech is a specific type of online content that is designed to threaten certain groups publicly and act as propaganda for offline organizations. Hate groups use websites for sharing ideology, propaganda, linking to similar sites, recruiting new converts, advocating violence and threatening others. This article analyzes the ways hate speech on the Internet can be countered. From the perspective of applied ethics, it discusses the issue in the context of moral and social responsibility, a neglected perspective in the New Media literature. The study discusses the targets of hate on the Internet, provides a framework within which problems can be identified and resolved by accentuating moral and social responsibility, and articulates possible policy solutions to combat this increasing problem. Page 23 of 23