[July 04, 2006]

Cox to add Web-surfing daily reports for parents

(Daily Oklahoman, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jul. 4--Tech-savvy kids and clueless or busy parents can make a dangerous combination in the online world.

That's why Cox Communications Inc. and other Internet service providers are racing to add even more parental control features to their Web security packages.

Later this summer, Cox will add daily, e-mailed Web-surfing reports to parents who sign up for the company's Security Suite software.

"Children are very Internet savvy and can make it hard for parents to retrace where they've been online," said Mollie Andrews, Cox's vice president of marketing. "But the new Web history feature will be one more way parents can stay on top of the Web sites accessed by their children."

The new tool, which is free for Cox high-speed Internet customers, can be set up for multiple children. Reports detail Web pages a child has tried to access and which sites were blocked or allowed based on preset filtering. Cox already offers limits to regulate the amount of time kids spend online.

A recent survey commissioned by Cox and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that 14 percent of teens have had face-to-face meetings with people they've met online. One-third of teens said they've considered meeting someone they met on the Internet.

Social networking sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Xanga are among the fastest growing locations on the Web. According to the survey, 61 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds had profiles on those sites, while half have posted pictures of themselves online.

The survey showed that many parents aren't aware of their child's surfing habits. About 33 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds surveyed said their parents or guardians know "very little" or "nothing" about what they do on the Internet. That figure rises to 48 percent among 16- and 17-year-olds.

John Walsh, children's advocate and host of "America's Most Wanted," said parental involvement is key for safe surfing. Last month, Walsh hosted a teen summit on Internet safety in Washington that will be broadcast on Cox cable channels this month.

"We all know that the Internet is a fantastic educational tool for children," Walsh said in a statement. "However, parents need to be engaged with their children and aware of their online habits to prevent the unthinkable from happening."

Other service providers such as AOL Inc. and AT&T/Yahoo! High Speed Internet also offer a growing list of parental control features. Both companies have similar features to those offered by Cox.

"Parents have the ability to set different levels of security depending on their age," said Andy Morgan, Oklahoma spokesman for AT&T. "They can also monitor e-mail traffic, and each e-mail recipient has to be approved by parents."

AT&T suggests parents get their children to sign "Internet use agreements" that spell out exactly how parents expect kids to behave online. The agreements also can help parents start a dialog with their children regarding online safety.

AOL's instant messaging service AIM and its chat rooms are popular among teens. For younger children, AOL offers monitored chat rooms and message boards where hosts ensure inappropriate language and personal information are not posted.

The Cox/NCMEC teen Internet survey was conducted among 1,160 teens aged 13 to 17 in March by Teenage Research Unlimited.

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