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Borneo Post
2 days ago
- Borneo Post
Filter, monitor: Every parent's role to safeguard children online
By equipping families to monitor, communicate, and set healthy boundaries online, Kempen Internet Selamat reinforces the message that internet safety starts at home but requires the involvement of all. – AI Image KUALA LUMPUR: Today's children are more digitally connected than ever, with access to games, learning tools, and social media at their fingertips but, this connectivity brings serious risks, especially from child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Many people think only the government or police can tackle this, but experts say that keeping children safe is a shared responsibility for everyone. The Kempen Internet Selamat (KIS) continues to prioritise public education on the importance of digital safety, especially in addressing the threat of CSAM. The campaign promotes practical tools and family-based strategies to empower parents in their role as digital guardians. By equipping families to monitor, communicate, and set healthy boundaries online, KIS reinforces the message that internet safety starts at home but requires the involvement of all. 'Addressing CSAM is not solely the responsibility of the police or the government, it is a responsibility we all share,' says David Ho, Founder and Executive director of Navigator Asia Business Sdn Bhd and parent. David Ho With predators exploiting every gap in oversight and awareness, a collective approach is essential to build multiple layers of protection. The Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 in Malaysia further underscores this collective responsibility, requiring anyone who becomes aware of child sexual abuse to report it immediately. Parents and guardians are the first line of defense against these threats. Ho emphasises that 'parents need to build open communication with their children, making it safe for them to discuss uncomfortable issues.' By creating an environment where children feel comfortable sharing, parents can identify early signs of grooming or inappropriate behavior. Monitoring is another crucial component where parents should regularly check their children's devices, friend lists, and browsing history. Setting clear digital boundaries through family internet agreements can help outline appropriate online behavior, define prohibited websites, and establish consequences for violations. Ho also stresses that 'families need to stay informed about the latest trends and risks to guide their children effectively.' In addition to proactive parenting, technology provides powerful tools for safeguarding children online. Parental control software like Bark and Qustodio offers comprehensive features including content filtering, screen time management, and AI-based monitoring of social media interactions. These solutions help detect issues such as cyberbullying, inappropriate texting, and mental health red flags before they escalate. At the network level, router-based parental controls can block harmful content for all devices connected to the home Wi-Fi. Device-specific controls, often built into smartphones and tablets, allow parents to set screen time limits and restrict access to age-inappropriate content. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), together with local telcos, has introduced initiatives to make these tools more accessible to families nationwide. Content filtering technologies are also indispensable in the fight against online exploitation. Automated systems leveraging cryptographic hashing and AI-powered image classifiers can detect and block CSAM in real time. These systems adapt to new tactics as predators evolve, preventing exposure to harmful content and supporting law enforcement efforts by reporting detected material. Despite these tools, the most advanced technology cannot replace vigilance. Parents and caregivers should watch for warning signs that a child might be exposed to harmful content. Sudden changes in behavior, excessive secrecy about online activities, unexplained gifts, and knowledge of sexual topics beyond their age are all red flags. Other grooming indicators include adults isolating the child, giving gifts without parental consent, or encouraging the child to keep secrets. Community involvement plays a critical role in child online safety. Awareness campaigns, school-based digital literacy programmes, and family-centered workshops are vital for educating both children and adults. 'Community awareness increases vigilance and promotes reporting of suspicious behavior,' says Ho. Programmes such as Vietnam's 'Swipe Safe' have shown that community-driven education can significantly improve protective behaviors and awareness among young people and their families. Peer networks also empower children to support each other. When young people are educated about online safety, they are more likely to recognise grooming tactics and alert adults or friends. This peer-to-peer approach is highly effective in creating a protective environment around children. Collaboration between public institutions, the private sector, and civil society organisations further strengthens child protection efforts. Through resource sharing, joint training, and coordinated responses, these partnerships can develop advanced detection technologies and provide essential support services for victims and families. Malaysia's adoption of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection of Children from all Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse and its national Plan of Action on Child Online Protection highlight the importance of these collaborations. Technology companies also play a significant role in combating CSAM. They must implement advanced detection systems, enforce strict age verification processes, and provide easy-to-use reporting tools for users. Transparency reports that detail efforts to combat CSAM can build public trust and encourage ongoing improvements. Furthermore, companies should maintain close cooperation with law enforcement and child protection organizations to ensure swift responses to emerging threats. Continuous updates to AI moderation systems help keep pace with new evasion techniques used by predators. Ultimately, the fight against CSAM and online exploitation requires an unwavering commitment from every sector of society. As parents, teachers, community members, and digital citizens, they all have a role in protecting children and seeing the red flags. By combining strong family communication, robust monitoring, community involvement, and technological safeguards, coming together can create a safer online environment for our children. Ho explains that parents and community, 'Make the Internet a safer place for the next generation.' This call to action serves as a powerful reminder that a community can disrupt the cycles of harm and build a digital future where children can learn, connect, and explore safely. Through collective action and constant vigilance, the solutions to these challenges are within reach. As the community continues to strengthen the defenses and educate communities, it can ensure that the internet becomes a space for growth and discovery rather than exploitation and danger.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
Your Kids Are Smarter Than Ever. These Apps Help You Keep Up
Savvy parents use safety measures wherever possible. With technology, dangers lurk both online and within apps that children use. Fortunately, parental control apps and services can limit screen time and phone usage while filtering the websites your child can access when surfing the web. Here are our parent-tested favorites this year. Get some peace of mind while you help your kids stay safe out there! Two plans for families. Monitoring for social media, emails, and texts. Seven-day free trial. Many alerts. No safe-driving features. Somewhat pricey. Bark comes in two plans: Bark Jr. ($5/month or $49/year), designed for families with young children, and Bark Premium ($14/month or $99/year) for families with kids of all ages. Both plans cover families of every size, have location-sharing features and alerts, screen time management features, and filtering for the websites your children can visit. In addition, the Bark Premium parental control plan gives busy parents peace of mind by monitoring more than 30 social networks 24/7. The app also monitors YouTube usage, texts, emails, cyberbullying, online predation, and suicidal ideas. Price: Bark, Jr. is $5 monthly/Bark Premium is $14 monthly after a free trial. Download For: iOS Android Available on smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Filters web content on all browsers. Free trial available. The annual fee starts at $54.95 for five devices. iOS version can't limit video game playtime. While it requires a bit of an investment, Qustodio is a popular monitoring app for parents, and for good reason. The app is available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Kindle and allows parents to receive daily reports on the apps their kids are using and how much time they spend on their devices. Parents can set specific screen time windows, outside of which the device becomes unusable, and the advanced web filtering limits the content minors can view while surfing the web, whether they use Safari, Firefox, Edge, or another browser. A free account can offer basic protection on one device, but multi-device monitoring requires a membership. Price: Free; Premium plans start at $54.95. Download For: iOS Android Can limit screen time, video games, and apps. Free to use with Xbox, Windows, Android, iOS. Generates activity summaries. Web filtering is limited and easy to get around. No social media monitoring. Difficult to set up. It can be difficult for parents to monitor their children's gaming, but the Microsoft Family Safety app is a free set of tools to monitor and limit what their children do on Xbox One, Windows 11, and Android devices using Microsoft Edge. This app includes free web filtering, app blocking, and scheduling for up to six family members. The app's content filters create a safe environment for children of any age by designating suitable sites that are always allowed and never allowed. Price: Free with in-app purchases available. Download For: iOS Android A child tracker and censorship tool all in one. All features and functionality are free. Can take up to 30 minutes to set up. Basic web content filtering. The Google Family Link app is a free tool that parents can use to control the apps their child downloads on their mobile phone, how much screen time they're allowed each day, and the content they can purchase. Once it is set up, the Google Family Link app, which is available on iOS and Android devices, can also track the location of the connected smartphone, making this service a solid child tracking app. Google Family Link is a fantastic tool with almost all the features that other apps charge a monthly membership fee for. Price: Free Download For: iOS Android Filter game and media content, including DVDs. Parents can limit how long children play games. Fully managed on PS4 and PS5; no smartphone app. Confusing for parents who don't use PlayStation console. Sony's PlayStation 4 doesn't have a standalone app solution for controlling kids' screen time like the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, but it does feature some solid settings built into the console that can be accessed in Settings > Parental Controls/Family Management > Family Management. Once activated, these parental control settings can limit how much time children can spend playing video games each day and between what hours. Parents can also select which age ratings they'll allow for video games, digital media, and DVD and Blu-ray discs, which can bring peace of mind whenever the kids play alone. Price: Free. Featured Link: EXTERNAL: Visit PlayStation Parental Controls Full reports on times used and games played. Disable the console at specific times. The app can be installed on only one smart device. Inability to set unique play limits for individual users. Nintendo's Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app is a free app for iOS and Android that connects directly to your Nintendo Switch. After it's connected, the app monitors play time limits, what games are played, and who's been playing. All the data displays within the app in an easy-to-understand fashion, making monitoring video game screen time incredibly easy. The true power of the app lies in its ability to restrict how much family members can play the Nintendo Switch per day. Parents can set time limits in the app in just a few seconds and suspend the console completely after bedtime. Price: Free. Download For: iOS Android Affects every device in the home. Completely free. Only works with your internet connection, not mobile. Setup is fairly complex and can take a while. It's a service. Not an app. OpenDNS FamilyShield is a free service that prevents everyone who connects to your internet connection from accessing adult or inappropriate content when online. What's particularly impressive is how the security settings affect every single device in a household, from personal computers to smartphones and tablets. Price: FamilyShield isn't an actual app you download to your iPhone or Android smartphone, but it's a service that can help control what content the mobile devices in your house can Link: EXTERNAL: Visit OpenDNS FamilyShield A lot of functionality in the free version. Monitors web, app, and other usage. 30-day trial of premium features. $69.99 annual subscription needed for all features. The web filtering is good, but isn't foolproof. While many parental monitoring apps on Android require a premium fee to unlock all of their features, ESET offers a surprising amount for its free version. Once parents download and install the app on a tablet or smartphone, they can monitor the websites their children visit, limit what apps they can install from the Google Play Store, set time limits for certain apps, limit how much money they can spend on digital purchases, and view a basic activity report. The yearly premium subscription unlocks web filtering, which restricts what kids can see online, and also provides a tracking tool for parents to pinpoint where their children are in the real world—but these are features offered elsewhere for free. Parents can also monitor all activity from the ESET website, which is convenient for households with only a few smart devices. Price: Free; Premium version for $69.99 annually. Download ESET Parental Control Related: The 6 Best Security Camera Apps for iPhone Read the original article on Lifewire
Nikkei Asia
05-06-2025
- Health
- Nikkei Asia
Australia prepares to kick kids off social media despite doubts
SYDNEY -- Jackson, a 14-year-old high school student in Sydney, usually spends around three hours a day scrolling through his phone's TikTok and Instagram feeds. That is the typical level of usage these days among Australians aged 18 and under according to research by online safety software company Qustodio. But the average could soon drop dramatically.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Your Best Life: Screen Smarts
SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — In today's digital world, it's easy for kids to consume endless hours of screen time. But what are they watching? And how can parents make sure their teens and preteens are not consuming too much of the wrong type of media — especially when it comes to important but complex issues happening around the world like war, politics, violence, and natural disasters? One approach experts suggest is putting families on a 'media diet.' Ten-year-old Rowan McGill and her mom, Kendra Machado McGill, use crafting to unplug. 'I'm not a big TV person. I'm more of like, let's go do a craft or go outside,' said Kendra. One concern is increased eco-anxiety caused by the 24-hour news cycle. 'We know from research that children and young adults feel fear, hopelessness, despair when we bring up climate change. We want them to feel empowered. We want them to feel like collectively they can do things to help our Earth,' explained Sara Sweetman, PhD, Education Scientist at the University of Rhode Island. Experts say setting early media habits helps. First, focus on quality over quantity by setting daily screen limits, creating screen-free zones during meals, and unplugging one-hour before bedtime. Use resources like to find age-appropriate shows. 'We do know that co-watching TV with your child and talking with them about what they're seeing has really positive educational outcomes,' Prof. Sweetman told Ivanhoe. Use built-in parental controls on streaming services. Enable safe search settings on Google and YouTube. Use content monitoring apps like Bark, Qustodio, or Norton Family that allow you to track what your child watches. And most importantly, talk with your child about what they are learning. As for Rowan, screen time is fun — but with her mom's guidance, it's also safe and balanced. Experts say parents should watch for signs of media anxiety in kids, like recurring nightmares or hyper-focus on news stories. The key? Talk with kids about what they watch, help them process difficult topics, and make screen time just one part of a healthy daily routine. Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Executive Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; and Bob Walko, Editor. Produced by Child Trends News Service in partnership with Ivanhoe Broadcast News and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). To receive a free weekly e-mail on positive parenting from Ivanhoe, sign up at: If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ Sponsored by AGEWELL Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
