Draft Script for SafeToSurf Infomercial

I want to start with a short preface. A few of you might be familiar with some of the following information. And perhaps a few of you might have already installed software to protect your family while using the Internet. But let me still implore you to please listen carefully, as it is quite probable that the products you currently have are not providing you the protection you expected, as nearly all of the existing products can be easily circumvented by today’s clever youth. None of the products currently available, protect the users from the newest methods on the Internet that endanger our children. Thank-you in advance for your attention.

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Our children typically know far more than we do about this new technology - the Internet. While we're still trying to figure out how to set that annoying clock on our VCR, our children are clicking their way to exciting new worlds that didn't even exist when we were their age. Many of our computer-literate children have already been exposed to the benefits of the World Wide Web.

How can you keep everything that is wonderful about this new technology - the ability to view soil on Mars up close, for example, or tour the Library of Congress, get homework help from experts, chat with faraway relatives - and still screen out the bad elements?

Most parents wouldn't dream of sending their child alone into a challenging new situation - the first day of kindergarten, a first trip to the corner store, day one behind the wheel of a car - without explaining what to expect and setting rules. Nor would a loving mother drop her child off in Times Square to hang out by them self for a few hours. Yet all across America, moms and dads are so unaware of the dangers that lurk on the Internet - potential contact with pornographers and predators that prey on the young - that they provide no guidance at all. In fact, many parents don't realize how corrupt some Web sites are. Children can easily - and innocently - stumble upon these images (many of which are free), as well as incorrect sex information, hate speech and other inappropriate material.

If your child has full access to the Internet, you should not be without concern. With unrestricted access, any child with a computer and a modem can access pornographic material in seconds, and once it's been seen, the pornography can never be entirely erased from the mind. Just as disturbing as the pornography itself, is the difficulty in protecting children from those people who have a sexual appetite for children and who search for victims through conversations with unsuspecting kids on the Internet.

When I first discovered what types of pornography are being generated on the Internet, I was alarmed. But when I actually saw the depraved material available on the Internet to any child who stumbles across it, I was truly repulsed and saddened.

The common practice of today's Internet "pornopreneur" is the posting of free teaser images on their web sites as enticements to solicit new subscribers. Any child with unrestricted Internet access can view these free pictures through accidentally accessing such sites or by deliberately searching them out. Any computer-literate child can view adult pornography, such as images that appear in Playboy or Penthouse, as well as pornography that is prosecutable as obscenity, which might include pictures of women having sex with animals; men engaged in sexual acts with children; and the rape, torture, and mutilation of women.

In the case of pornographic spam, children open their e-mail and find direct access links to pornographic sites. Many of these e-mails contain subject lines that are deceptive; for example, "Please Help Me." Who wouldn't open mail with that subject heading? Children and adults are unable to determine the mail's true contents until the mail is opened and read, and by that time, the damage is done. In addition, some Web browsers automatically open to display images that may be pornographic. Also disturbing is the fact that a child can be automatically switched to an adult Web page-exhibiting sexually explicit images-without even clicking on the link!

The old argument offered by those who reject any sort of responsibility for pornographic images has been if a person doesn't want to see it, they shouldn't go looking for it. That might have been applicable when X-rated books were only in stores. But today’s kids can accidentally access this material because of the intrusive nature of it, the way that pornographers trick not only children but adults to get into their sites. A child can type an innocent word into a search engine and easily get to a porn site, something like toys, or boys-dot-com is a hardcore homosexual porn site. For many years, even whitehouse.com was a Porn Site.

Most of us find it difficult to talk to our children about sex in general, let alone the harmful effects of pornography. We want to protect the innocence and purity of childhood for as long as possible. Yet children need to know why certain rules about the computer and their access to the Internet exist. They may be less likely to violate the rules if they are told the truth about why they are not allowed to see everything on the Internet. We can begin to educate our children about protecting themselves from dangers in cyberspace.

With all the pros and cons of the Internet, you the parent should not feel you are without options. Child protection technology is abundant, but information on determining which technology is appropriate for your home and how to implement each tool is less plentiful and a bit more difficult to understand. I want to help you become comfortable with the tools available to you and your family and to encourage you to choose the tools that are right for your home. You can implement responsible safeguards, ensuring that your children will have safe, educational, and entertaining online experiences. Educate yourself about cyberspace. Raise your awareness of the benefits as well as the risks of going online.