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Australian Govt. Proposes Internet "Panic Button" For Kids

Posted by timothy on from the panic-panic-panic dept.

CuteSteveJobs writes "Children who feel they are being bullied, harassed or groomed online could call for help instantly using a 'panic button' on their PCs under a plan by the Australian Government's cyber-safety working group. The button shall look like a 'friendly dolphin,' who will connect the child victim instantly to police or child protection groups. Australian Internet Censorship Advocate Hetty 'Save the Children' Johnson says the Internet needs something like 000 or 911. Will this be another scheme wasting taxpayer dollars in lieu of parental supervison, or could it actually work? Are 1 in 4 children really sexually abused by the Internet? Can flaming and trolling be classified as bullying?"

34 of 434 comments (clear)

  1. Definitely questions for... by CannonballHead · · Score: 4, Funny

    Will this be another scheme wasting taxpayer dollars in lieu of parental supervison, or could it actually work? Are 1 in 4 children really sexually abused by the Internet? Can flaming and trolling be classified as bullying?

    I'm sure there are plenty of experts on Slashdot that are very qualified to answer. ;)

    1. Re:Definitely questions for... by reginaldo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What exactly are the police going to do? It's not like the kid is in imminent danger, the perpetrator is not physically there.
      If the police don't need to respond instantly, wouldn't it be better for the kid to tell his parents what happened, as opposed to wasting police resources on a non-emergency situation.

    2. Re:Definitely questions for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      My younger brothers know not to call 911 unless it is a real emergency. But I can't say they'd have the same discipline with something like this.

      Also, it seems that this would encourage people to use the panic button for stupid reasons. If there really enough of a problem to justify these extreme measures, then children shouldn't be allowed to use an internet connected computer without supervision. I don't routinely let my brothers play with the stove, but if they want to eat something I help them cook it. I don't see why use of the internet should be any different, other than parents not wanting to participate with their kids or not having the time to supervise them fully. A few of the kids I babysit have told me before that they are allowed to use the computer whenever they want. My usual response is 'That's your parent's decision, but my computer doesn't get touched unless I'm there.' Parents should be made more aware of the dangers and responsibilities of having open access on computers in their home for the younger kids.

      Instead of a police button, get some parental material out to inform the responsible adults about the issue. I think that would do much more good.

      And since most of the cyber-bullying that I've encountered was perpetrated by early teens, and not malicious adults, I'd say that parental supervision would prevent a lot of that from happening in the first place. Parents need to be more responsible. --End of rant.

    3. Re:Definitely questions for... by oldspewey · · Score: 5, Funny

      this would encourage people to use the panic button for stupid reasons

      Brittany left a really mean posting on my FaceBook wall. She keeps saying I still like Shakira when I told her, like, three weeks ago that I don't like Shakira anymore. So now Brittany keeps telling everyone at school I bought those purple sneakers to match something I saw on Shakira's video when I told her already I didn't even see that video until, like, yesterday.

      --
      If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
    4. Re:Definitely questions for... by plover · · Score: 4, Funny

      Show me where on the dolphin he touched you.

      --
      John
    5. Re:Definitely questions for... by tverbeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "99% of use would be a child scared by something which is not actually illegal or dangerous and the responder simply explaining what happened and closing the problematic content."

      And who exactly is going to provide this handholding/babysitting service? And take the liability for when (not if) they brush something off that turns out to be serious?

      This would be the electronic equivalent of a kid yelling "mom!" every time something happens they don't like. What's the penalty going to be for kids who "push the dolphin" because the printer doesn't work, or a web site is asking them to upgrade their PDF plug-in, or some other kid posted a message saying that [insert child pop star here] is a poopyhead?

      For the 13,674th time, people: Please stop asking the government to parent our children. It's not their job.

      --
      http://alternatives.rzero.com/
    6. Re:Definitely questions for... by DarkVader · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Police officers have a very limited amount of training in what the law actually is, and they are not known for being the brightest people.

      I wouldn't put much more trust in what a cop says is legal than in the average person on the street. Police are not attorneys, and are not judges. They might be able to identify an armed robbery, but if a legal question is much more complex than that, most cops are lost. Their training consists of a very small subset of law, with an emphasis on acting first and thinking later.

      The good ones will just walk away. The bad ones will make an illegal arrest, causing someone some serious inconvenience.

      And that's not being anti-police. That's being realistic. You want to fix it? Require cops to have law degrees.

    7. Re:Definitely questions for... by Firehed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "1 in 4 children are sexually abused by the internet."

      Is that physically possible? And remember, getting your dick stuck in the CD drive because someone on the internet said it was a good idea doesn't count.

      Even if that read "1 in 4 children have suffered sexual abuse directly or indirectly from the internet being used as a means of communication" that sounds absurdly high. The internet being involved in 25% of the cases of child sexual abuse, sure, but that's not what it said. And obviously to deal with the other 75%, we need to ban being in the same room as a minor, since the rest of sexual abuse cases involve someone being in the same room.

      Obviously the problem here is the children. We need to ban them, that way they can't be abused. And in time, we'll eventually run out of people that can become retarded politicians.

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
    8. Re:Definitely questions for... by Dersaidin · · Score: 5, Funny

      The BLOWHOLE????

  2. That's... by pudding7 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Calling 911 because someone is making you feel bad? Calling 911 because some guy 1000 miles away wrote some words that made you feel bad?

    1. Re:That's... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

      Come and see the violence inherent in the system!

      Help! Help! I'm being repressed!

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:That's... by _PimpDaddy7_ · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're a meanie!

      I've pushed my button:
      http://jezlyn.files.wordpress.com/2006/07/easy-button-hack.jpg

      The authorities are going to get you, meanie!!!

    3. Re:That's... by ls671 · · Score: 4, Funny

      What do you mean, I just called 911 because I have been modded down on Slashdot and they said its being taken care of...

      I wish I had that panic button.

      P.S. I am 11 years old.

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    4. Re:That's... by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm thinking that we as a society are becoming (or are already) a bit too fetishised over coddling their children.

      (warning: impending 'get off my lawn' rant/moment...)

      When our grandparents were kids, if they got bullied, their own parents would respond by teaching them how to fight. Hell, even when I was a kid, my parents' reaction to bullying was usually along the lines of "...well kick his ass then - as long as you didn't start it, you won't be in trouble from us for finishing it".

      Nowadays, the Internet is easier to deal with - if someone is acting the fool, teach your kid to block 'em and inform the webmaster/etc. Teach 'em to toughen up and to ignore the idiots of this world - it'll better prepare them for adulthood.

      Leaving your kid alone online is the perfect equivalent of letting them wander around alone on Times Square - if you're dumb enough to do it, then at least prepare them for the inevitable bumps and bruises... or perhaps maybe not let your kid surf the thing unsupervised, eh?

      At least this way there's no scrambling around on the cops' part over false positives (because those are almost guaranteed with this system), and nobody has to waste taxpayer money over something that parents should already know how to do, FFS...

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    5. Re:That's... by Jazz-Masta · · Score: 4, Funny

      This will be incredibly abused. Not to mention the ability for virus/malware to disable the panic button or abuse it (cry-wolf).

      I imagine it would go something like this:

      You suck, vii is way better than emacs

      You: Hi Interweb Police?
      The I-Pol: I see you have an emergency, how can I help?
      You: Some noob on /. said vii was better than emacs.
      The I-Pol: I see, this is an issue, when in fact, Notepad is better than both.
      You: WTF? BOB?!

  3. How long until by jDeepbeep · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How long then until a worm emerges that floods the govt with hundreds of thousands of fradulent calls, making the signal to noise ratio too burdensome to navigate?

    --
    Reply to That ||
  4. The government has the most experience by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Of fucking people......certainly more than some anonymous internet perv.

    --
    "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
  5. The Internet is not Real Life by eln · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Your access to the Internet is limited basically to the box on your desk, or the phone in your hand, or other devices that are similarly entirely under your control. It's not like normal harassment or bullying in that you can easily get away from it simply by turning off the device you're using to access it. If you're getting bullied in real life, you have to try to run away and get help immediately before your attackers catch up with you and continue the beating. Online, you can simply get off the computer and tell the proper authorities (be that the police or your parents or whoever) at your leisure. There is not the same need for immediacy.

    Also, the whole idea of grooming children (or more often FBI agents posing as children) is that the pedophile gets the child to believe they're safe, and so they would have no motivation to push the little dolphin button. The kids that go off to meet pedophiles do so because they don't perceive that they're in any danger. If they don't perceive the danger, why would they alert the police to anything?

    1. Re:The Internet is not Real Life by joebok · · Score: 4, Informative

      ...you can easily get away from it simply by turning off the device you're using to access it...

      I think you've just saved the tax payers of Australia a ton of money - just replace the circle & line logo on the power button with the "friendly dolphin" icon and the children are safe!

    2. Re:The Internet is not Real Life by girlintraining · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you're getting bullied in real life, you have to try to run away and get help immediately before your attackers catch up with you and continue the beating.

      You haven't been bullied, have you? You don't run -- it only encourages them. You turn into any attack -- 95% of the time, that's the right answer. Bullies, muggers, rapists, etc., all have one thing in common: They go for the low hanging fruit.

      Online, you can simply get off the computer and tell the proper authorities (be that the police or your parents or whoever) at your leisure. There is not the same need for immediacy.

      Or, you know, you could ignore them. Or be a responsible parent to your child, instead of wasting taxpayer dollars chasing down every bad word someone else's kid says about yours.

      Also, the whole idea of grooming children (or more often FBI agents posing as children) is that the pedophile gets the child to believe they're safe, and so they would have no motivation to push the little dolphin button. The kids that go off to meet pedophiles do so because they don't perceive that they're in any danger. If they don't perceive the danger, why would they alert the police to anything?

      Grooming takes time. It doesn't just happen one evening while your child is propped up on the bed and you're having dinner, and the next day they're on a bus. A lack of parental supervision is the problem here -- if we were actually spending time parenting instead of working two jobs and leaving the child rearing to the schools, televisions, and computers, this wouldn't be possible.

      This government solution isn't: That friendly dolphin isn't there for the children, it's there for the parents. So they can feel less guilty about not watching their kid. It's the same reason we have padded foam and rubber all over playgrounds, and the swing sets have been removed, along with all the other interesting things to do. Meanwhile, I used guns, went hunting, rode motorcycles, ATVs, and played hide and seek in a five acre field. Bullies didn't give me much trouble growing up -- rural girls scare the ever-living crap out of city boys.

      Take a hint, parents: Raise your kids to be self-reliant and strong, and you'll never have to worry about their safety. But keep them as your precious snowflakes, and you'll raise a bunch of fragile weaklings that will spend their lives suckling the tit of the government and crumpling at every hardship. I don't say this to be mean -- I say this because the other thing a rural upbringing gave me was a lack of tact. ;)

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
  6. So long by j-stroy · · Score: 4, Funny

    and thanx for all the filth!

  7. achievement unlocked by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    achievement unlocked

    you are a regular pusher, well done!

    pressing the panic button 50 times in a minute unlocks this award and gives you access to Juvie hall.
    Extra Rewards: Parents must pay $500.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
  8. sure, you can have a panic button by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    as long as the panic button dials the parent's cellphone/ sends a text to the parent/ sends an email to the parent

    not to some intrusive government bureaucracy with an agenda having dubious additional goals beyond just good parenting, not tailored to the specifics of each different parent-child relationship, and costing tax dollars

    otherwise, its basically just a good business idea for someone to invest in and flesh out

    i look forward to unintentionally humorous late night tv commercials for the internet panic button

    "mom! i've fallen into porn and i can't get up!"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I've_fallen_and_I_can't_get_up!

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  9. What's Dumb is Ignorance by fm6 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Your attitude is exactly why people don't ask for help when they're in a bad place. The result is school shootings, suicides, and other depressing events. Not just among teens either. Adults in general listen to your kind of belittlement and think they're weak if they ask for help.

    This is a particular problem in first responders and members of the armed services. They see all kind of horrible crap, need help in dealing with it, and are afraid to get it because they don't want to seem "weak". This is a particular problem in the Army, which is seeing a spike in suicides lately.

    Mind you, I'm not equating a bullied teenager with a GI who's seen his friends blown up by an IED. But they do have one thing in common: they need for it to be easy to ask for help, and people like you make it hard.

    1. Re:What's Dumb is Ignorance by Shagg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There's a big difference between talking to your parents if you're bullied at school versus calling 911.

      --
      Unix is user friendly, it's just selective about who its friends are.
    2. Re:What's Dumb is Ignorance by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Dude - if your kid gets bullied at school, do you:

      a) take care of it w/ the kid (e.g. teaching him how to fight back) and/or the school administrators if necessary, or...

      b) call 911?

      This isn't a hard question, I promise you.

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  10. Can sexual abuse take place in a virtual world ? by Archfeld · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "Are 1 in 4 children really sexually abused by the Internet?"
    Err NO, exactly ZERO (0) children have ever been sexually abused by the internet. Nor for that matter have any children EVER been sexually abused over the internet, on the internet, or even around the internet. The internet has undoubtedly been a tool used by sexual predators to get access or to provide information on the location of children which they would then prey upon and abuse, but just like a gun has never shot anyone by itself, a interconnected system of computers has never abused or neglected a child, it takes people to do that....
    http://www.pandys.org/whatissexualabuse.html

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  11. What the 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 number actually means. by JoshuaZ · · Score: 4, Informative

    The way the large percentages for sexual propositioning/harassment on the internet are pretty misleading. In order to get that number they are counting fairly tame stuff such as mildly lewd comments from friends over IM and the like. For example, a teenager asking another teenager if the other was a virgin would count or possibly even asking "hey, did you end up making out with that cute guy." When one looks at what one would normally call a real problem, such as sexual solicitation by strangers and the like one gets under 3%. See http://www.csicop.org/si/show/predator_panic_a_closer_look/.

  12. Oh honestly now... by greatica · · Score: 5, Funny

    How can Dolphins save you from the net when they get caught in them all time?

  13. The OTHER online bully by CarlosHawes · · Score: 5, Funny

    So could I use this to report Internet "bullying" the next time Windows Genuine Advantage pops up to see if I have handed over my lunch money to Redmond as required?

  14. WTF is wrong with Australia? by visualight · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can we go a few months without an article on slashdot describing yet another moronic idea from someone in Australia?

    Seriously, there's something wrong in that place and I'm very curious to know what. Or maybe, these stories are coming from the Australian equivalent of WeeklyWorldNews?

    --
    Samsung took back my unlocked bootloader because Google wants me to rent movies. They're both evil.
  15. Relevant article from Vanity Fair by dave562 · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/12/sexual-predators-200912

    The short version is that the police and the media are contributing the hysteria of online child predators and blowing things WAY out of proportion. In the huge majority of the cases where minors are involved in sexual conversations online, they are engaged in them with other minors.

  16. Re:Are penguins friendly too? How about beasties? by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Funny

    "click"!? In *BSD!?

    *blink* .... *blink*...

    (turns to crowd - )

    It's a HERETIC! BURN HIM!

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  17. Looking forward to 4chan by MathiasRav · · Score: 5, Funny

    (User has been arrested for this post)