FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday December 2, 1997

 CONTACT:Sydney Rubin 301/654-5991 Megan Lamb, 202/828-8893

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hundreds of leaders of industry, law enforcement, child and public advocacy organizations, government, schools and libraries gathered here today on the second day of a three-day Summit to discuss ways of enhancing the safety and benefits of cyberspace for American families.

Two Summit initiatives to enhance law enforcement and educate the public on Internet safety were among the announcements made during the meeting that included participation by Vice President Al Gore, Attorney General Janet Reno, Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and Commerce Secretary William M. Daley. Among the Congressmen participating were Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ), Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

"Never before have so many people from so many groups gathered to address issues faced by children and American families in the digital age," said Christine Varney, chairperson of the Summit.

"All of us agree that children’s online safety concerns are real and pressing and that we must support the involvement of parents raising children in this new, digital age. We understand that we must all work together -- industry, law enforcement, educators, advocates -- if American families are to realize the potential of this new medium for enriching the lives of our children and fostering their future success."

Vice President Al Gore, who spoke in a morning session of the Summit, announced a national public education campaign, "America Links Up: An Internet Teach-In" designed to help Americans understand how to guide kids on-line. The campaign, using the slogan "Think, then Link," will encourage the active involvement of parents, teachers, librarians and others in guiding children, increasing awareness of safe on-line behavior, and encouraging familiarity with tools that promote safety and access to good content. The goal of the program is to educate and empower children to make wise and responsible decisions in cyberspace.

Working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education, the campaign teams the talents and expertise of a wide variety of groups including the American Library Association, America Online, the Children's Partnership, Children Now, Disney, The National Education Association, the National Urban League, SeniorNet and others.

Teach-ins, to take the form of town hall meetings, will be held in schools, libraries and community centers across the nation timed to coincide with back-to-school activities next fall. In preparation for the teach-ins, a series of public service announcements will begin running this spring to get parents information that will be useful during summer vacation. The PSAs will provide parents with an 800 number and website to obtain more detailed information, a "tool kit" of resources for families.

Commitments are being sought from a variety of broadcasting networks to air the PSAs. So far, the Summit has commitments from ABC television network, which has agreed to air the education ads on both network and cable and during Saturday morning cartoons, as well as from Time Warner’s Cartoon Network, CNN and other cable systems owned by the company. Disney provided creative assistance in designing the PSAs.

Additional announcements were made Tuesday by the Public Broadcasting System, the Department of Education and a host of companies and non-profit organizations initiating projects, products and services targeted at helping families and children on-line.

Law enforcement initiatives announced at the Summit fell into two broad categories: Internet Alerts designed to allow the public to report illegal activity on-line, and Public/Private Law Enforcement Partnerships, designed to enhance cooperation and the exchange of information between the Internet industry and officials with the FBI, U.S. Customs Service, Secret Service, State Attorneys General and local law enforcement agencies.

Beginning early next year, parents and consumers will be able to notify authorities of incidents of child pornography and child predation in cyberspace through a CyberTipLine, to be operated with joint industry and U.S. Government support by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The CyberTipLine, which will serve as a clearinghouse for tips and leads on cybercrime, will be accessible through both a Web site and an 800 number. The CyberTipLine will take leads on incidences of child sexual exploitation including online enticement of children for sexual acts, information on the possession, manufacture or distribution of child pornography, child prostitution and child-sex tourism. Leads will be acknowledged and forwarded to the appropriate branch of law enforcement.

The new Web site, www.missingkids.com/cybertip, also will provide useful information on child pornography and predation such as: laws and legislation, prevention and resources, guidelines for parents, safety guidelines for children, tips for teens and a directory of contact information provided by Internet Service Providers and law enforcement agencies.

After logging onto the site, parents will double click on a CyberTipLine icon that will launch them onto a page to be filled out and emailed in. The site, now under construction, is anticipated to be operational in the first half of next year. Meanwhile, reports can be phoned in to the Center's toll-free hotline 1-800-843-5678.

Summit participants also announced creation of a training video and a nationwide series of hands-on trainings for law enforcement officials that begins with a training next month in Washington D.C. The program is designed to raise awareness of how traditional financial crimes and street crimes are now committed on-line, including pyramid schemes, 900-number scams, phony talent searches, beat-the-system scams, harassment, threats, child pornography, child abduction, theft of or unauthorized use of credit card numbers.

The trainings will demonstrate how new technology also has created new types of crimes that open the door for new, high-tech ways to steal information or money or disrupt organizations. The goal of the trainings will be to close the gap between awareness and arrest by exploring how old-fashion police work applies to new, electronic crime.

Trainings will explore how to identify clues to on-line crime, identify tools and operations of on-line criminals, preserve evidence at a "crime scene," determine jurisdictional issues, identify information that might be valuable and its sources, and identify methods to track "e-criminals."

"This Summit is the first step toward addressing a full range of issues of concern to parents, such as advertising and marketing on-line, privacy, the development of high quality content and equitable access," Ms. Varney said. "We are committed to holding future meetings and are encouraged by the success we have had in working together so far."

Registration to the Summit was closed in late November after all seats were filled. A standing-room-only crowd attended. Those unable to attend the Summit in person can tune in to a live audio cybercast beginning at 7:44 a.m. EST, December 2. Details on the cybercast can be found at the Summit web site http://www.kidsonline.org.