US parents keep greater control on kids' online deeds
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-03-20 09:00

More than half of US families with teenagers use Internet filters, a 65-percent hike from 2000, a latest survey showed.

Twelve million out of 19 million youths living in Internet-connected homes now have filters, compared with 7 million who had filters in 2000, according to the survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life project.

Filters are a technological complement to other protection measures, such as restricting access to the Internet and monitoring teens' Web surfing activities, the CNET News on Friday quoted Pew research specialist Amanda Lenhart as saying.

She said the recent poll results suggest that parents might be overwhelmed by the amount of content, both acceptable and objectionable, available online, and see filters as a way to protect their children when they are not able to keep tabs on Web surfing.

Filters are attractive to parents because they can be customized to sift out sites that parents consider harmful to their kids, Lenhart said.

An estimated 73 percent of families locate their computers in an open location inside the home, and 64 percent of parents say they establish rules about their teens' time online, the survey found.

The findings came at a time when a federal court is preparing to consider a lawsuit against the federal Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which was passed in 1998.

The legislation requires Web sites containing "material harmfulto minors" to use an age verification system, such as asking for credit card information, to ensure that site visitors are aged 18 or older.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups sued the government, arguing that COPA is an unconstitutional infringement on the free speech and privacy rights of adults.

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