UAE | Crime
Families warned to monitor children's use of computers
Families have been advised to monitor their children's access to the internet to avoid falling victims to cyber crime, child abuse and harassment
- By Dina Aboul Hosn, Staff Reporter
- Published: 14:29 February 2, 2012
Dubai: Families have been advised to monitor their children's access to the internet to avoid falling victims to cyber crime, child abuse and harassment.
The risk of child abuse over the internet came under the spotlight in a meeting between Dubai Police, Ministry of Interior, Community Development Authority and other authorities held to plan a new campaign to protect children from internet risks.
Lieutenant Colonel Jasim Mirza, Director of Security Awareness at Dubai Police, highlighted the issue of internet safety for children, which is the responsibility of parents and families, as children may not know what can harm them.
The campaign aims to spread awareness and inform families of the dangers that children browsing the net can be exposed to, Lt Col Mirza said.
16 steps
There are 16 main steps that help protect children from these dangers, starting with educating children by talking to them about the internet and its benefits, and setting rules for allowed websites and browsing times, he said.
Children should be taught that not everything they see on the internet is true and warned against writing or posting something that cannot be removed later.
They should also be told that their parents will not be with them always and thus they must use self-discipline, and while they must be informed of the risks, they should not be banned from accessing the internet without giving them a reason.
Personal pictures
Lt Col Mirza said parents must also warn children against posting personal or family pictures, carrying out financial transactions, giving out a password, opening emails from unknown sources or meeting internet acquaintances in person.
As for dangers associate with unsupervised use of the net, Lt Col Mirza said some children neglect their home and school duties as a result of extended use.
They can also accidentally come across adult websites or open emails and links from unknown sources, which may give hackers a chance to hack their computers and obtain personal and financial information.
On his part, Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Mohammad Al Shummari, Director of the Interior Ministry's Child Protection Centre, said negligence in monitoring and supervising a child's internet access can have grave consequences, such as the child falling prey to criminals who lure children for immoral purposes, as even adults call fall victims to these criminals.
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