While the developer boys keep developing and exciting stories from the ICT expo flood the Mostyle office. I have been busy looking into issues surrounding online safety for users, especially minors.

Less than a month ago the Police Home Office Task force, consisting of representatives from industry, charity and law enforcements from around the world, collaborated to produce a document out lining a list of rules and regulations that social networking and online interactive sites should be aware of, and abide by.

This article is an invaluable source of information and guidance for companies that provide a platform for users to interact with other users. The article ‘Good practice for the providers of social networking and other user interactive services 2008’ is available on the police home office website http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/social-networking-guidance and is extremely informative.

The internet is an amazing platform for people to enrich their understanding of the world, expand their friendship bases, and increase efficiency in day to day functions. As a twenty year old, I have grown up with the internet as a part of my life, as will the next generation, and so on. I take for granted being able to Google search information, book holidays and catch up with friends, all from the comfort of my home.

However I do not take for granted my safety. I am constantly aware of online predators, the privacy and the security of the sites I visit. I credit this to the online education I had at school, and the horror stories I grew up with, regarding children who had not been protected when using the internet.

Today, information on safe internet use is not hard to find. I have attached a listing of websites to this article that provide parents and cares with an enjoyable, interactive means of educating youth on how to use the internet safely.

Further more, at Mostyle, we are taking this opportunity to stress the importance of educating users, of all ages, about the dangers they can face when interacting with other users online. Being a platform that encourages social interaction between users, sharing content and fostering an online community, we feel it is our duty to provide our users with safe, clear and accessible information about how to use Mostyle safely.

Mostyle is a site that is restricted to users aged thirteen and over. If a user is under the age of thirteen, they are asked not to sign up. In light of the aforementioned article, we are putting in place further measures to protect minors from accessing Mostyle. These should be up and running in the coming weeks. As well as putting in place age restrictions, we are putting up a list of guidelines to help users use Mostyle safely. This will be available with the terms and conditions, as well as else where on the website.

For more information on using social networking sites, and online interactive sites safely, Mostyle recommends the following sites for reference

http://www.crewjo.com/index.htm

http://www.cybersmartkids.com.au/

http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com/

http://www.chatdanger.com/

http://www.ahtcc.gov.au/