WHOA-KTD PROTESTS SO-CALLED "CHILD PROTECTION REGISTRIES" WHOA-KTD expresses concern about legislation that could adversely impact children

    /24-7PressRelease/ - DOVER, NH, February 26, 2006 - Adding another rung to the ladder of its standing commitment to protect and safeguard children while they are on the internet, Working to Halt Online Abuse - Kids/Teens Division (WHOA-KTD) cautions all states against development or implementation of dedicated "Do Not Email Registries" that exclusively contain email addresses of children. In a misguided effort to shield children from adult spam, some states (Michigan, Utah, Georgia, Iowa, Connecticut, Illinois, Wisconsin and Hawaii), could actually place their children at a far greater risk.

WHOA-KTD has serious concerns that a compilation of the names and email addresses of children into one central source will make kids and teens even more vulnerable online and offline than they are already. Not only would spammers be highly motivated to acquire such a registry, but there could be unthinkable consequences if such a registry would end up in the hands of child predators.

WHOA-KTD President Jayne Hitchcock does not believe that registries dedicated to children's email addresses would provide any "appreciable resolution to the ongoing problem of spam." WHOA-KTD supports the Email Sender and Provider Coalition (ESPC at (http://www.espcoalition.org/) and joins the many other respected industry leaders who have spoken out against the registries.

Quotes pertaining to Utah's Child Protection Registry Act:

• "Worse yet, the email registry is as likely as not to expose children to more unwanted spam or other email from unscrupulous parties." Kurt Opsahl, Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
• "Tragically, instead of creating a stronger standard, the Utah registry undermines CAN-SPAM and greatly increases the risk to the very children it claims to protect." Clark Rector, Senior VP-Government Affairs, American Advertising Federation
• It has been proven that the security of the registry is deeply flawed. The registry does not monitor who downloads their lists and so predators, pedophiles and other fraudulent senders can easily extrapolate the email addresses of minors resulting in the exact opposite of what the Act intended. This registry will do nothing to protect children and will in fact put them at even higher risk of being preyed upon via email." Trever Hughes, Executive Director, ESPC
• We look forward to finding a solution to this epidemic that doesn't harm kids, and hope that Utah will further their progress and take the measures necessary to find that real answer." Dan Jaffe, Executive VP, Association of National Advertisers
• Not only are we concerned that the legislation will do little to protect children from harmful images and messages, we fear it could actually worsen the problem, and in the process badly tangle the rules governing Internet communication. There are better and more effective ways to protect their children in the online environment." John Morris, Staff Counsel, The Center for Democracy and Technology

In February, 2004, the FTC ended a report with: "...such a Registry would at best be ineffective and at worst could cripple the email system or actually facilitate more spam - including more spam to children. Furthermore, we conclude that any Do Not Email Registry that earmarked particular email addresses as belonging to or used by children would raise very grave concerns due to the security issues discussed above."

Hitchcock agrees that "registries that contain email addresses of children could possibly have the opposite effect of their original intention to protect children" and she worries that dedicated lists like this would make the children more of a target, since their status as minors will be confirmed through valid email addresses, especially to sexual predators.

In December, 2005, the FTC sent a report (Effectiveness and Enforcement of the Can-Spam Act) to Congress, which said that "the possibility these lists could fall into the hands of the Internet's "most dangerous users, including pedophiles, is truly chilling." The FTC not only cautioned against legislative action at state level to adopt registry-style laws, but also stated that "grave security and privacy concerns argue decisively against such measures." Vulnerabilities they highlighted in the report were:

a) a list could be misused by registry personnel
b) a list is subject to direct hacking by technologically sophisticated persons
c) operator of such a registry is not likely to be able to screen each individual seeking registry access

WHOA-KTD plans to become involved in any legislation that could potentially expose or identify children online. Hitchcock recently wrote to express strong opposition to Illinois House Bill 572 by saying, "Put simply, a child protection registry will create a single database of confirmed children's email addresses, which must be accessed by thousands of vendors of adult-related products (i.e., adult content, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, etc.). While the security around the registry itself may be sound, there is nothing that can guarantee the security of the thousands of vendors that must access the registry."

WHOA, the oldest and largest all-volunteer online safety organization, has been helping adult victims of cyberstalking since February, 1997. WHOA-KTD was founded last year in response to a growing need for kids and teens to have a place to turn to when they are being bullied, harassed, intimidated or stalked online. WHOA and WHOA-KTD volunteers work hard on behalf of victims, donating their time and effort, knowledge and expertise to assist, educate, empower and guide cyber crime victims in staying safer online.

Jayne Hitchcock routinely trains law enforcement and advocate groups and conducts educational seminars, raising awareness of cyber crime and online harassment. She is a high profile, dynamic educator of the dangers on the internet and she is now available to give lectures tailored for kids and teens in high school, as well as lectures and workshops designed to help teachers, educators and parents know how to help kids and teens who come to them for help. She is also the author of Net Crimes and Misdemeanors (netcrimes.net), which highlights the various crimes that can happen to users online, how to stay safer and what to do if they become a victim. Hitchcock is available for interviews by calling her cell phone at 207-251-0627 or voicemail at 815-550-5059. More information is available at http://www.haltabuse.org or http://www.haltabusektd.org

WHOA is an all-volunteer organization devoted to promoting online safety and helping adult victims of online crimes. WHOA-KTD (Kids/Teen Division) is for kids/teens, their parents and teachers who are concerned about cyberbullying, predators and the dangers of online blogs, IM, profiles and more.

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