Industry Internet safety | Headquarters London | |
Type Not-for-profit corporation Founded May 13, 2014 (2014-05-13) in London, United Kingdom Website www.internetmatters.org | ||
Internet Matters is a nonprofit organisation, based in London, England. It was set up to help parents keep their children safe online and maximise their potential.
Contents
History
Internet Matters was launched on 13 May 2014 with a launch event at the Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, London attended by guests including Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Janet Ellis and industry experts including Sonia Livingstone. At the time David Cameron described the launch as 'a significant step forward in our mission to protect our children online'.
Internet Matters is supported by the largest internet service providers in the UK, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and BT. Between them they have direct relationships with 90% of internet households in the UK.
Internet Matters works closely with other child e-safety charities and industry bodies including the NSPCC, Childnet, FOSI, the CEOP and search engine Google
Website
The online portal gives information and guidance about the main e-safety issues children might be exposed to when browsing the internet. There is also advice for safeguarding and tips for setting up appropriate controls and filters in the portal.
The portal contains information for parents on the online issues of cyberbullying, inappropriate content, online pornography, online reputation, online grooming, sexting, self-harm and radicalisation. The site has published guidance to help parents understand information relevant to their child’s age, the latest in connected technologies, mobile applications, social networking and online gaming. It also has instructions for parents on how to set up parental controls and filters for specific broadband and mobile providers, devices and content providers.
Back to School (2015)
Over 1000 UK parents were surveyed to identify at what age they thought a child owning a smartphone was OK. The survey revealed that the majority of parents (84.6%) would like a minimum age on smartphone ownership with 10 being the most popular age.
Pace of Change (2015)
Internet Matters commissioned Childwise to carry out a UK-wide study to explore the use and understanding of technology among children aged 7–17, and parents of children this age. The research revealed an increasing gap between parents and children online with the fact that children spent significantly longer online, with girls using smartphone on average 4 hours a day.
Cybersafe (2013)
Cybersafe 2013 was a study commissioned to support the launch of Internet Matters. The findings of the study highlighted a clear demand for more information about the risks children face when accessing the internet, at the time of research 74% of parents surveyed stated they wanted to know more. Of the 74%, 18% wanted to learn more about filtering content and blocking access to specific websites.