For Your Peace of Mind:
Safe Travel on the Information Highway

by Robert L. Reichle, Esq.

Regardless of what you call it – the Internet, Cyberspace, the Net, or the Information Highway – the Internet in the last ten years has changed our lives. Millions of people are now going on-line to exchange electronic mails, or e-mails (rarely a day goes by that a business doesn’t ask me for my e-mail address), participate in chat groups, post and read messages in news groups or surf the Net for information.

Information such as news, sports, weather, stock quotes and movie reviews are readily available. You can find out about your local schools, make travel reservations, and shop in the comfort of your home. You can also read an out-of-town newspaper as well as communicate by e-mail with family and friends around the world. Children are part of this ever-growing on-line phenomenon.

In fact, the younger generation is more likely to be on-line than adults. The personal computer at home is not the only method used for accessing the Net; they can go on-line at a friend’s house, at school, at the local library, or even at the so-called Internet Cafes. The latest version of cell phones can also access – and be accessed by – the Net.

This abundance of access doesn’t mean that the Net is something that parents should fear. To the contrary, the younger generation is learning more, thanks to safe use of the Net. But just as there are rules for using the motor-vehicle highway, a parent should establish reasonable rules for travel on the information highway.

The best rule that I have ever read goes something like this: A parent would not let a stranger come into the house to chat with their child. Don’t let that stranger come in through the Net! Here are a few others that parents may want to consider:

• Set reasonable family rules for use of the Net. Discussions between the parent and child could include not only what the rules are but also the reason for the rules.
• If you are a parent, like many, who is not Internet savvy, get to know the Net and any services that your child uses. If you don’t know how to log on, get your child to show you. Have your child show you what he or she does on-line and become familiar with the activities that are available on-line. If your child has a free, web-based e-mail account, such as those offered by hotmail or Yahoo, learn their user names and passwords.
• Some Internet Service Providers offer restricted access, such as blocking e-mails from outside of the service or from people who aren’t pre-approved by a parent. Services such as NetNanny (www.netnanny.com) and SafeSurf (www.safesurf.com) offer parental controls. But these are not foolproof and remember that there are no censors on the Net. Anyone almost anywhere in the world – companies, government, organizations, and individuals – can publish material or information on the Net.
• Downloading should be done with care. A file could contain a virus that could damage a computer or increase the risk of a hacker gaining remote access to the computer, jeopardizing the family’s privacy or perhaps even personal safety.
• Personal information, such as the family address, telephone number, parent’s work address and telephone number or the name and location of the child’s school, should not be given without the parent’s permission. The same with a child’s picture. While sites such as MySpace provide the opportunity for a young person to chat with friends and make new friends, it should be viewed as it is: a worldwide bulletin board with information that can be accessed by almost anyone.
• Encourage your child to never respond to messages that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, threatening or make the child feel uncomfortable and to tell you if he or she encounters such messages. Even clicking on the so-called hotlinks on unsolicited e-mails can lead to problems: it can lead, at a minimum, to spam or, at extreme, to information and web sites that are inappropriate for children to view.
• Remember that not everything the parent and the child read on the Net is true. Just as there are those who would use conversations to give their personal point of view, the Net is the same. And if it’s something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
  

It’s primarily about trust. Just as you may trust your child to have private conversations on the telephone, keep a diary, or even have conversations with friends, the Net can be the same. If the child has shown that he or she is trustworthy, that can extend to use of the Net.

And just as we travel every day on the motor-vehicle highway, travel on the information highway can be safe, enjoyable and educational. All it takes are a few rules of the road!

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Attorney Robert L. Reichle has been practicing law for more than 20 years. His office, located on Route 8 (William Flynn Highway) in the Castletown Square Building in Hampton Township, serves the Hampton and Shaler Townships and surrounding areas. He represents clients in numerous matters, including wills, powers of attorney, living wills, family and criminal law and DUI. The information in this article should not be construed as the giving of legal advice. Such advice can only be given after a complete review of all the facts, circumstances, and relevant legal issues.

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