For Release: July 14, 2006
Contact: J. Tucker Martin or David Clementson
Email: jtmartin@oag.state.va.us or dclementson@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-2071
McDonnell Holds First Meeting of Youth Internet Safety Task Force
--Meeting Held at NationalCenter for Missing & Exploited Children—
ALEXANDRIA - Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell hosted the first formal meeting of his Youth Internet Safety Task Force today in Alexandria. Meeting at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Task Force heard from the Attorney General and other national leaders in the effort to protect children online, watched demonstrations on Internet safety by public safety professionals, and broke into working groups to begin the process of formulating new legislation and new proposals to safeguard Virginia children online.
Speaking on the first meeting, McDonnell noted, “Today’s event marked the beginning of a concerted effort to keep Virginia children safe online. When I was growing up, not far from where we met today, in Fairfax County, my parents gave me common-sense advice, the kind of caution most adults received as children: Don’t talk to strangers, don’t get in a stranger’s car. Now, in the 21st century, we have to adapt our advice to children to reflect the high-tech world in which they live.”
McDonnell continued, “Today, the world comes right into your office and living room. Unfortunately, criminals are using the Internet as the new frontier for committing sex offenses and identity theft against minors. With so much of the nation’s Internet traffic moving through Virginia, we must protect children and our citizens in order to keep the Internet a great tool for information exchange, communication and electronic commerce. This Task Force will find real ways to accomplish this goal.”
State and national leaders in attendance today included, Dr. Billy K. Cannaday, Jr, State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Col. Steve Flaherty, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police; Ernie Allen, President of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; John Ryan, Vice President and Chief Counsel for American Online/Time Warner; Rick Lane from MySpace.com; Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg); Sen. Ryan McDougle (R-Hanover); Del. Robert Hurt (R- Chatham); and Bobbie Kilberg, President and CEO of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, among many others.
This past session of the General Assembly, Attorney General McDonnell successfully spearheaded a comprehensive reform of the Virginia laws regarding sexually violent predators. Combating sexually violent predators using the Internet is the next phase of this effort. The Attorney General’s Computer Crime Unit, which prosecutes cases across Virginia, has found that sexual predators are using popular social networking sites such as MySpace.com, and Facebook.com, to interact with and threaten younger users of the web.
The mission of the Youth Internet Safety Task Force is to find and recommend methods of further protecting Virginia’s children and teenagers on the Internet with new laws or regulations, tools for law enforcement, education programs for schools, kids and parents, and business partnerships.
Click here for more information on the Youth Internet Safety Task Force.
The Youth Internet Safety Task Force will hold its next meeting in Richmond on September 19. A full schedule can be found below.
Youth Internet Safety Task Force
Meeting Schedule
July 14 |
10-2 |
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) |
Sept. 19 |
10-2 |
Richmond |
Oct. 17 |
10-2 |
Hampton Roads |
Nov. 16 |
|
Roanoke |
December |
|
Final Report of Task Force |
