Report calls for child internet safety council

A major report on children's use of technology has recommended the government to set up a child internet safety council that would draw up a strategy on keeping children safe online.

The council would report to the prime minister and would aim to improve regulation and education around internet use, tackling problems such as online bullying and "suicide" sites.

Clinical psychologist Tanya Byron, who wrote the report, investigated potentially harmful, but legal, internet content. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is working on the issue of criminals making illegal contact with children on the web.

Byron said internet service providers should offer and advertise kitemarked parental control software to help parents protect their children. She said industry should take more responsibility for supporting families through transparent codes of practice in areas such as user-generated content. Her report also called for better regulation of online advertising and safer search features.

The classification system for video games should also be reformed, Byron said.

"My recommendations will help children and young people make the most of what all digital and interactive technologies can offer, while enabling them and their parents to navigate all these new media waters safely and with the knowledge that more is being done by government and the internet and video game industries to help and support them."