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Executive Summary
Pages 1-14

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From page 1...
... , while "experiences" are interactive (e.g., talking to a stranger through instant messages or chat rooms)
From page 2...
... However, compared to other media, the Internet has characteristics that make it harder for adults to exercise responsible supervision over children's use of it. A particularly worrisome aspect of the Internet is that inappropriate sexually explicit material can find its way onto children's computer screens without being actively sought.
From page 3...
... Obscenity and child pornography enjoy no First Amendment protection. A third category of sexually explicit material that is not obscene and not child pornography can be obscene for minors; such material may be regulated for minors but must be freely available to adults.
From page 4...
... Sources of inappropriate sexually explicit material on the Internet are commercial and non-commercial. The commercial source is the online adult entertainment industry, which generates about a billion dollars a year in revenue from paying adults.
From page 5...
... While some extreme sexually explicit material meets legal tests for obscenity (and therefore does not enjoy First Amendment protection) , less extreme material may not and material described in the previous paragraph, lingerie advertisements,
From page 6...
... Thus, identifying inappropriate material must rely either on an automated, machine-executable process for determining inappropriate content or on a presumption that everything that is not explicitly identified by a human being as appropriate is inappropriate. An approach based on machine-executable rules abstracted from human judgments inevitably misses nuances in those human judgments, which reduces the accuracy of this approach compared to that of humans, while the presumption-based approach necessarily identifies a large volume of appropriate material as inappropriate.
From page 7...
... · Restricting a minor to appropriate material through techniques that give a minor access only to material that is exulicitlv judged to be anuropriate; · Blocking inappropriate material through techniques that prevent a minor from being exposed to inappropriate material; · Warning a minor of impending exposure to inappropriate material or suggesting appropriate material, leaving him or her with an explicit choice to accept or decline a viewing; · Deterring the access of minors to inappropriate material by detecting access to such material and imposing a subsequent penalty for such access; · Educating a minor about reasons not to access inappropriate material in order to inculcate an internal sense of personal responsibility and to build skills that make his or her Internet searches less likely to turn up inappropriate material inadvertently; 1 J J to 1 1 · Reducing the accessibility of inappropriate material so that inappropr~ ate material is harder for minors to find; · Reducing the appeal of deliberate contact with inappropriate material by making access to the material (and only such material) more difficult, cumbersome, and inconvenient; and/or · Helping a minor to cope with the exposure to inappropriate material that will most likely occur at least occasionally with extended Internet use.
From page 8...
... For example, public policy can be used to reduce uncertainty in the regulatory environment; promote media literacy and Internet safety education (including development of model curricula, support of professional development for teachers on Internet safety and media literacy, and encouraging outreach to educate parents, teachers, librarians, and other adults about Internet safety education issues) ; support development of and access to high-quality Internet material that is educational and attractive to children in an ageappropriate manner; and support self-regulatory efforts by private parties.
From page 9...
... [Section 10.6] Internet safety education is analogous to safety education in the physical world, and may include teaching children how sexual predators and hate group recruiters typically approach young people, how to recognize impending access to inappropriate sexually explicit material, and when it is risky to provide personal information online.
From page 10...
... And these strategies do not provide a quick fix. But in addition to teaching responsible behavior and coping skills for when a child encounters inappropriate material and experiences on the Internet, they are relevant to teaching children to think critically about all kinds of media messages, including those associated with hate, racism, senseless violence, and so on; to conduct effective Internet searches for information and to navigate with confidence; and to make ethical and responsible choices about Internet behavior and about non-Internet behavior as well.
From page 11...
... A number of other technology-based tools are discussed in the main report. OVERALL CONCLUSIONS Contrary to statements often made in the political debate, the issue of protecting children from inappropriate sexually explicit material and experiences on the Internet is very complex.
From page 12...
... But, as most parents and teachers noted in their comments to the committee, those who really want to have access to inappropriate sexually explicit materials will find a way to get them. From this point, it follows that the real challenge is to reduce the number of children who are strongly motivated to obtain inappropriate sexually explicit materials.
From page 13...
... Though some might wish otherwise, no single approach technical, legal, economic, or educational will be sufficient. Rather, an effective framework for protecting our children from inappropriate materials and experiences on the Internet will require a balanced composite of all of these elements, and real progress will require forward movement on all of these fronts.
From page 14...
... Though these adoption curves substantially trail the overall price reduction curves for computing capability (unit capacity halves in price every 18 months) , data storage (unit capacity halves in price every 12 months)


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