New Ad Campaign Protecting Kids From Online Predators

Friday, March 23rd 2007, 2:15 pm

By: News On 6

The U.S. government is stepping up its efforts to protect children from online predators. First, they created Innocent Images, a task force of FBI agents and local police that catches perverts online. Now, they've created commercials to educate kids about the dangers of the internet. News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports at any given moment, there are 50,000 predators online prowling for children.

The Internet may be a great technological advancement, but it's also made it incredibly easy for predators to find victims.

Networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, Friendster and Xanga are popular sites for kids who post and share personal information, photos, diaries, even videos. But many online predators use those sites to find innocents, so they can transform a fun online experience into a terrible in person crime.

"Unfortunately, the sickest, most perverted element of our society, child pornographers, pedophiles, molesters have learned to use and abuse Internet technology," said U.S. attorney David Oâ€™Melia.

A new ad campaign was created to make kids think twice about what they post in the most public of all places, the Internet. The ads are specifically aimed at girls, because they are more likely to receive a sexual solicitation online, are on the computer about three hours a day and are more likely to hide their computer use from their parents and answer messages from people they don't know.

The ads are a joint effort between the U.S. Justice Department, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Ad Council.

For more information about how to protect kids online, visit cybertipline.com.

To watch the new TV ads visit Loriâ€™s Safety Tips Page.