From: "Judy Hogaboom" judyfh@pearlsw.com Dear Ms. Stires, Please let this letter serve as notice that I am nominating myself to be a member of the newly formed committee charged with addressing the issues of online access and security. Please note that the for the last four years my service in the Internet industry has been devoted to raising awareness and educating the public on privacy, e-commerce and security issues, as they affect users of online resources, in particular as they relate children. In this Country, the filtering companies have had a very loud voice in expressing the negative attributes of the Internet. The "success" of this campaign has, in many cases, been very destructive. Parents and educators experience fear in giving children access to the Internet. Unfortunately, however, the real issue of educating children to behaving responsibly is rarely addressed. Furthermore, few efforts have been made to include parents in the education process. In conjunction with these concerns, is the issue surrounding the interactive mediums. All too often, these Internet mediums are ignored and the fear is attached only to the World Wide Web. Our Foundation has worked intimately with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as well as, the FBI. Abductions, pedophilia occurrences and graphic images are injuring children on a daily basis. In a recent statistic, it was discovered that 12% of all children intend to physically meet a person they've been communicating with in a chat room. Another issue that I'd like to bring to the forefront is MOTIVATION. We fail to take the time to consider what is motivating these children to behave as they are. For example, in the Columbine tragedy, it is my belief that this could have been prevented. Had the school taken the opportunity to monitor their students' access, then the online behavior would have been revealed and thus intervention could have occurred. Without understanding the motivation behind a behavior, we can't possibly begin to offer effective intervention. What I bring to this commission is a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of parental fears, educator concerns coupled with limited resources and manpower, and a thorough understanding of the filtering issue and why this false sense of security is tremendously injurious to the growth and development of technology in our Country and the safety of our Nation's children. Please see the attached link for a brief description of my company, as well as, my own biography. http://www.pearlsw.com/psnews/backgrd.htm Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Judy Hogaboom Foundation Coordinator Telephone: 610-458-2387 |