p2p news / p2pnet: Sites such as Rupert Murdoch’s MySpace are increasingly highlighted as favourite hunting grounds for sexual predators.

MySpace’s solution was to hire an ex-federal prosecutor of "internet exploitation cases" to act as a kind of cyber cop.

But Canadians are taking a more direct, interactive CD route.

"Seventh grade students in Scarborough are the first in Ontario to use a software package designed to teach them about threats they could face while using the Internet," says CTV.

Ophea.net’s CyberCops, "is a computer based program that teaches students in Grades 7 about the risks found in chat rooms and on-line bulletin boards."

Ontario community safety minister Monte Kwinter said 94% of Canadian children are online, and 40% have their own high-speed access and now CyberCops teaches students, "about Internet luring, cyber-stalking and child pornography and Grade 8 students about credit-card fraud, software piracy and bullying," says the Toronto Sun.

"The program doesn’t pull punches, depicting the girls talking about meeting older boys on the Net and sending them photos of themselves," says the London Free Press. A police officer tells the girls they were tracked down using information they gave the boys, including the name of their school, and that the photos are posted on the web.

Ontario spent $1 million to develop the software and create a training program for teachers, says the story.

Do CyberCops actually exist and can kids actually talk to one online? No, says Ontario Provincial Police officer Arni Stinnissen, OPP, quoted in the Ophea FAQ.

"It is possible for a predator to create a ‘cybercops for kids’ website, just as they can spoof other legitimate websites. We do know that predators troll in kid’s only areas. While the kids are relatively safe inside the website, predators try to lure them outside to a chat channel or instant messaging. Multi-national corporations get scammed every day and unsuspecting clients loose their Identity. Children can be lured by many attractive websites but the whole point of this project is to educate the youth (and others) so that they can make the right decisions to stay safe when participating in risky behaviour."

Also See:
CTV – Software teaches students about Internet safety, April 20, 2006
online guardian – MySpace paedophile solution, April 14, 2006
Toronto Sun – CyberCops fight perils of web, April 21, 2006
London Free Press – Cybercops teaches web safety, April 21, 2006

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