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Child Protection Advocates Gather for California First Cyber Safety Summit

SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and the California Coalition for Children's Internet Safety today brought together a diverse group of children's advocates, law enforcement personnel, educators, parents' groups, technology companies and others for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 California Cyber Safety Summit: Protecting Children Online.

Today's summit was designed to provide parents, teachers, and others with vital information and training to combat the dark side of the Internet. Nearly one in every five youths between the ages 10 and 17 in the United States who surf the Internet receives an unwanted solicitation from a predator each year, according to national researchers. Half of the children who are contacted don't tell anyone about being solicited.

"California children have the right to safe experiences on the Internet," said Rosario Marin, Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency. "Children's safety is among Governor Schwarzenegger's highest priorities, and this summit will help protect some of our most vulnerable consumers."

"The behavior of online predators is simply unconscionable," said DCA Director Charlene Zettel. "By bringing together leaders from parents' groups, schools, the technology industry, government, law enforcement, prosecutors, and children's safety advocates, we are forging a powerful alliance to address this problem."

"Awareness and training are some of the strongest tools we can provide our children to teach them how to protect themselves from online predators," said keynote speaker Marc Klaas, founder of the KlaasKids Foundation, and father of Polly Klaas, who was abducted and murdered in 1993.

The Summit included a morning presentation from Katie Canton, a victim-turned-advocate, and Teenangels, who are 13-18 year-old volunteers who have been specially trained by law enforcement and who conduct peer education across the country. The other morning presentation was conducted by several experts who addressed the dangers of the Internet and what industry, law enforcement and children's safety advocates are doing to address those dangers.

Afternoon workshops were geared toward sharing information and providing forums to discuss not only the dangers of the Internet, but effective strategies for reducing those dangers. Participants included panelists from popular online social network sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Microsoft, and Yahoo!, as well as law enforcement personnel, educators, parents' groups, and consumer safety organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Common Sense Media, and i-SAFE, Inc.

An all-day exposition featured everything from online safety software products to representatives from victim assistance organizations. For more information, go to www.cybersafety.ca.gov.

The mission of the California Department of Consumer Affairs is to protect and serve consumers while ensuring a fair and competitive marketplace. It protects and serves consumers by making available information that educates them about their rights and responsibilities, and helps ensure a competent and fair marketplace by establishing minimum standards of competency in more than 100 business and 200 professional categories - including doctors, dentists, cosmetologists, contractors, and automotive repair shops. www.dca.ca.gov

California Coalition for Children's Internet Safety Partners:

Cyber Safety Summit Gold Sponsors:

Answers.com
Microsoft®
myspace.com®
Symantec™
California Victim Compensation & Government Claims Board

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