In recent years at least 20 young people in the UK unwisely went to meet “friends” from chatrooms and were raped. The “friends” were adults masquerading as young people. These were just the cases that were reported, says John Carr, internet adviser at National Children’s Homes, at the launch of interactiveAgeCheck (iAC), a national identity scheme aimed at websites with age-specific services, particularly chatrooms. It hopes to keep paedophiles out of chatrooms and children out of inappropriate adult services such as gambling and pornography. Teachers are seen as key to authenticating children’s ages in this scheme, backed by the Home Office.
www.citizencard.com
