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East Midlands Liberal DemocratsBill Newton Dunn and the Liberal Democrats - working for you across the East Midlands |
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MEP welcomes programme to fight child porn
December 2, 2004 12:00 AM
Bill Newton Dunn, Liberal Democrat MEP for the East Midlands, today welcomed the extension of the EU's "Safer Internet Plus Programme". As rapporteur, he drafted the European Parliament's position on the Safer Internet Programme that ran from 1998 to 2004. He welcomed the agreement to extend the work from 2005 to 2009.
Speaking after the plenary vote, Bill Newton Dunn said:
"This programme focuses on increasing awareness of the dangers of the Internet and how to tackle them. It continues the work of the earlier programme in setting up hotlines for the reporting of illegal and harmful material - particularly child pornography and racist sites. The hotlines then inform the Internet Service Provider and/or police as appropriate, in order to get the material removed."
An amendment by Mr Newton Dunn ensures that information is not just targeted at adults and parents but also directly to children in schools and Internet cafés.
"The Internet is a tool with huge potential for good but we must learn how to match the advances of cyber criminals and 'cyber pests'. Children have the most to gain from this tremendous resource but they also the most vulnerable. This programme is a step towards a safer Internet for all."
The awareness raising element of the programme will also cover other Internet dangers, such as spyware, which secretly infiltrates home computers to steal personal data or send spam.
The European Commission will conduct an evaluation of existing filter software and, following an amendment tabled by Mr Newton Dunn, in a format that will make it easy for people to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the different software available.
"It is hard to know what filter technology there is out there, and how it compares. This Programme will make it easier for the user to make their own informed decisions about how best to protect themselves, and their children" said Mr Newton Dunn.
The programme was agreed under co decision rules - where the European Parliament and Council of Ministers have equal decision making power. The text adopted by the European Parliament today was the result of a compromise between the Rapporteur (Edith Mastenbroek MEP) and the Council of Ministers, so will be adopted by the Council during their Justice and Home Affairs Council today and tomorrow, thus enabling a smooth continuation from the previous programme.
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