We recognize that using the Internet is an important life skill, not just a hobby or entertainment. The Internet knows no boundaries, making it critical for parents and teachers to understand and enforce safe, responsible use of technology among kids, wherever they connect.
But teaching safety is only half the story. The ultimate goal of our Internet Safety for Kids and Families initiative is to build a generation of responsible digital citizens whose online behaviors demonstrate media literacy, safety and security, ethics and community.
We do this in three ways:
Educate: by engaging in direct advocacy in person and online; making resource materials widely available; maintaining a social media presence; and working with the media to raise awareness.
Collaborate: by teaming with experts and institutions who share our mission and can advise us – and we them - on the wide range of issues involved in online safety and responsibility.
Innovate: by marrying our security expertise with evolving social issues and parental concerns, and translating that knowledge into improving our products.
In partnership with PTO Today, we sponsor Internet Safety Night which provides a tool kit for local volunteers to host a presentation and discussion at their schools. The kit includes everything they need to organize an event and deliver valuable online safety information. To date more than 5,000 schools have registered to participate. In addition to local parent/teacher organization volunteers involved, we have 100 trained Trenders delivering some 50 presentations a year.
The “What’s Your Story?” video competition increases awareness of safe and responsible behavior by inviting youth to create videos on one of three safety topics to win cash prizes. The competition is open to schools and individuals age 13 and older. In 2011 we received more than 100 qualified entries that were viewed more than 150,000 times. Prizes include a $10,000 grand prize, three runners-up awards to schools, and three to individuals.
National speaking engagements include major educational technology conferences in California, Texas, Florida and Washington DC.
The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) works to make the online world safer for kids and their families by identifying and promoting best practices, tools and methods that also respect free speech. Through research, resources, events and special projects, FOSI promotes a culture of responsibility online and encourages a sense of digital citizenship for all.
Learn more about Family Online Safety Institute at www.fosi.org
School Family Media, Inc. is a marketing and media-services company. They support parents and schools in the process of helping children succeed – which is accomplished by promoting practical and meaningful parent involvement at school.
Through their core properties and programs - PTO Today, SchoolFamily.com, Back2School, School Family Nights, and Parent Education Nights - they help parents connect effectively with their children's education and the school community. School Family Media provides school PTOs and PTAs with the tools, resources, and know-how to engage and serve all parents at their school.
Learn more about School Family Media at www.schoolfamilymedia.com.
Childnet International is a UK-based charity that protects children worldwide by raising awareness around internet-safety issues, as well as by helping to develop new protective technologies.
For more information about Childnet International, go to www.childnet-int.org.
ConnectSafely is a forum and information source for parents, teens, educators, advocates - everyone engaged in and interested in the impact of the social web. The user-driven, multi-platform, fixed and mobile social web is a big part of young people's lives. ConnectSafely is designed to give teens and parents a voice in the public discussion about youth online safety – and provide a central space for learning about safe and civil use of Web 2.0.
Learn more about ConnectSafely at www.connectsafely.org.
Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing trustworthy information, education, and the independent voice kids need to thrive in a world of media and technology. They are a leading provider of nonpartisan ratings and reviews of media and entertainment based on criteria established by child development experts.
Learn more about Common Sense Media at www.commonsensemedia.org.
The Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) is a non-profit organization established to provide support for U.S. victims of identity theft, as well as to broaden public education and awareness about identity theft.
The ITRC also advises governmental agencies, legislators, law enforcement, and businesses about the evolving and growing problem of identity theft.
To learn more about Identity Theft Resource Center, visit www.idtheftcenter.org.
Trend Micro collaborates with organizations that are committed to stopping the online distribution of child pornography and abuse images and preventing the further victimization of the children involved.
Towards this end, we are proud to be a member of the initiatives listed below.
As part of our commitment to the online safety of children and families, Trend Micro is reinforcing its stand against online child sexual abuse by joining the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK self-regulatory organization for combating criminal online content.
By working with the IWF through our Internet Safety for Kids & Families initiative, we will expand our ability to block access to URLs containing images and advertisements that promote online sexual abuse involving children.
For more information about the Internet Watch Foundation, or to report a website, visit www.iwf.org.uk
Trend Micro is the first internet security company to join 67 Internet Service Providers and 6 international law enforcement agencies in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) URL Project. The goal of the project is to reduce the further transmission of child pornography images on the internet and protect child victims from further exploitation.
Through the project, launched in 2007, NCMEC will notify Trend Micro of web pages on which NCMEC has confirmed the presence of the 'worst of the worst' child pornography content, the most extreme images of pre-pubescent children being sexually abused.
For more information about the work of NCMEC, visit www.missingkids.com
Teach your kids to be safe from online predators. See our safety tips on How to Recognize Online Grooming.
Report any information that can help the IWF, NCMEC, and law enforcement in the fight against child sexual exploitation: