Parents should monitor children, Google says

London: A Google executive says it is a "myth" that laws can protect children from internet pornography.

Naomi Gummer insisted it was up to parents to keep their children safe from disturbing material.

She told a conference that legislation would be a blunt instrument because of the pace of technological advance. And she accused many parents of being "complicit" in helping youngsters use social networking sites such as Facebook even though they are not old enough.

Provocatively, she also cited research claiming that the extent of sexual content online had been exaggerated and that only a tiny minority of children are "upset" by what they see. In the last few days, the Daily Mail has highlighted concerns over the ease with which children can access online porn and today we launch a campaign demanding an "opt-in" policy for adult content on the internet.

This means that users would be automatically excluded from porn sites unless they specifically declared their wish to see them.

By contrast the industry wants an "opt-out" policy but critics say this would act as much less of a deterrent and protect far fewer children. Her candid comments will spark concerns that internet firms arguing against legislation have the ear of the Government, while those campaigning for tougher action to protect children online find it more difficult to be heard.

Gummer insisted to the conference that the extent of sexual content online had been exaggerated.

"Twenty-five per cent of kids have seen sexual images, but only 14 per cent saw them online," she said. "Of that, 4 per cent say they were upset by the images, 2 per cent of those images are hard-core and violent, and the rest is nudity in the same way as perhaps seen in the offline world."

— Daily Mail

At a glance

14%

out of 25% have seen sexual images online

4%

of those who saw online sexual images were upset