Local effort to deal with internet filth

A project from Rother District Council is launched today to raise awareness of internet indecency and how to combat it, becoming the first local authority campaign of its kind in Sussex.

This shadows closely the recently established national campaign, which concentrates on the hidden identity the internet allows paedophiles.

By focusing on the issue at a local level, Rother aims to make clear and accessible the ways to report indecent internet material and behaviour.

Interest from schools, groups and clubs will enable the campaign to continue with no time limit.

This will enable the facts to reach every young net user, parent, teacher and guardian, offering advice on how to stay safe while surfing the net.

The two main concerns are easily accessible pornographic sites and the vulnerability of children in chat-rooms, where identity is more often than not a secret. This allows paedophiles to prey on vulnerable children who may use chat rooms to talk about their problems anonymously.

The leaflet opens with the question: "Parents, would you leave your child alone in a strange area, let them enter adult only shops or meet a total stranger?" making the problems of cyberspace more comparable to everday-life.