By Tammy Compton
Wayne Independent
October 31, 2008

Internet predators are on the rise, says Attorney General Tom Corbett.
 

“Time and distance mean nothing to Internet predators because computer technology allows them to reach across the street, or across the country, to ‘groom’ young victims for sexual meetings or to flood their computers with explicit webcam videos, sexually graphic pictures or illegal child pornography.

“The number of predators we have been able to identify and arrest has been growing rapidly, and it is vital that parents and children understand this threat,” he said in a recent press release.

Wayne County District Attorney Mike Lehutsky said the Internet is a wonderful tool, but “it’s also a gateway to bring the best and the worst right into your house. Unfortunately, in today’s society, we are seeing more and more of this. They call them Internet predators because their actions are predatory.”

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WTAE-TV

Pittsburgh

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By VALERIE KALFRIN
Tampa Tribune

October 28, 2008

…Parents mindful of their children’s Internet use at home need to keep up with emerging technologies, these experts said. For instance, Google Maps Street View provides street-level photographs of neighborhoods but also has captured children at play, which could entice predators, said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit.

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By Steve Newborn
WUSF-TV

TAMPA – Chat rooms, texting, instant messages – they’re part of the culture our children are growing up with. But to many parents, the nooks and crannies of the Internet are unknown territory. Members of a coalition being formed to battle internet predators say it’s up to parents to know what they’re children or doing online – or face the consequences later.
To listen to this interview, please go here.

For Immediate Release:
           
October 27, 2008

Contact: 1-866-560-9028
media@StopInternetPredators.org

Today Kicks Off Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week
Child Safety Coalition focuses efforts to protect the safety and security of children during the last week of October, Cyber Security Awareness Month

Washington, DC – Today marks the beginning of Stop Internet Predators Week, the last week of Cyber Security Awareness Month, as part of a new campaign by Stop Child Predators to raise awareness nationwide about emerging technologies that threaten the safety and security of children.

Parents are often unable to keep up with the rapid development of new technologies that can pose new risks for children and families, and understandably so. This lack of awareness renders responsible parents unable to take the necessary steps to protect their families. One recent example of such technology is the Google Maps “Street View” application, which allows Internet users to view high-resolution photographs of homes and schools – images that in some cases include children playing outside. Although images are not live, Google “Street View” can memorialize a minor’s photograph in association with a physical address, without parental consent, for all Internet users to see.

Stop Internet Predators has created a petition calling for a ban on this application until it has been safeguarded to ensure children’s safety and privacy. Stop Internet Predators encourages supporters to join nearly 1,000 signers of the petition at http://www.StopInternetPredators.org/docs/action/petition.shtml.

During Stop Internet Predators Awareness Week, coalition members will team up with local organizations in cities across the nation to facilitate discussion about the privacy and security concerns raised by Google “Street View” and what people can do to protect themselves.

“Throughout Cyber Security Awareness Month, we have taken our campaign on the road and encouraged families to be proactive when it comes to protecting their children from potentially harmful online applications.  Today marks the beginning of Stop Internet Predators Week, and it is an excellent chance for us to really focus our efforts and continue educating communities across the country,” said Stacie Rumenap, Executive Director of Stop Child Predators, the organization leading the Stop Internet Predator campaign. 

For more information about the campaign and for our complete list of partners, please visit www.StopInternetPredators.org.

About Stop Child Predators
Stop Child Predators brings together a team of policy experts, law enforcement officers, community leaders, and parents that persuade lawmakers and the public to enact policies that protect America’s children from sexual predators.  Stop Child Predators is the only national organization that leads campaigns in every state to advocate legislation that prevents the sexual exploitation of children and protects the rights of child victims.
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WTAE-TV
Pittsburgh

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Saturday, October 11, 2008
By Amy McConnell Schaarsmith
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A national children’s advocacy group is pushing to get Pittsburgh removed from the Street View of Google’s map search until the technology is refined so pedophiles can’t use it to pinpoint children’s homes, schools and playgrounds.

Street View, an addition to Google Maps that uses vehicle cameras to take 360-degree, street-level views of neighborhoods, allows users to virtually cruise down a street and across a city. In the process, the tool shows pictures of children, toys and family cars that could tip a would-be predator to an area where children could be found and potentially victimized, according to the group, Stop Internet Predators.

Street View is available in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and 17 other cities in the U.S.

Google has said it would consider requests to remove such images from Street View but has not yet done so, according to Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Internet Predators. Until the tool can be used without potentially endangering children, it should not be allowed, she said.

“We want parents to have the opportunity to safeguard their children and for them to have the level of privacy and security they deserve,” said Ms. Rumenap. “Our children’s safety should always be the No. 1 concern when allowing a new technology to come into our neighborhoods, and putting the burden on parents to opt out of the system seems unacceptable.”

To read more of this story, please go here.

For Immediate Release:

Contact: 1-866-560-9028

October 14, 2008

media@StopInternetPredators.org

Campaign ramps up efforts including a Spanish YouTube video during Cyber Security Awareness Month and National Hispanic Heritage Month

Washington, DC – Today Stop Internet Predators announced the debut of their Spanish website, which will raise awareness about new technologies that pose threats to children and empower parents and caregivers in the Hispanic community to protect their children accordingly. The website can be found at www.StopInternetPredators.org/espanol. 
Not only is it National Hispanic Heritage Month, October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and Stop Internet Predators has taken this opportunity of heightened awareness to talk about new applications that threaten the safety and security of children.

One such application is Google’s “Street View” application, which allows anyone to view high resolution images of homes and schools, images that in some cases include children playing outside.

Often times parents are unaware such applications exist and are therefore unable to take the necessary steps to protect their families.  A petition calling for safeguards on this application already has the support of nearly 1,000 people. Stop Internet Predators encourages supporters to sign the petition at www.StopInternetPredators.org.

Many of the fifteen advocacy groups that have joined the campaign are happy about the opportunity Stop Internet Predators has to discuss these child safety issues specifically with the Hispanic community.

Alma Morales Riojas, President and CEO of MANA, A National Latina Organization, is featured in a video on the site explaining how important it is for the Hispanic community to be informed, to fully understand the new threats and to take the necessary action. “MANA welcomes the opportunity to utilize this new website as a platform to empower Latinas to alert themselves and their families of the possible threats brought by new technologies like Google ‘Street View’.”

For more information about the campaign, for our complete list of partners or to sign our online petition to safeguard Street View please visit www.StopInternetPredators.org.

About Stop Internet Predators
Stop Internet Predators is a project of Stop Child Predators, launched to educate parents and communities on emerging online child safety issues and empower them to protect their children’s privacy and safety. Stop Internet Predators has a special focus on new internet technologies that pose a risk to their children’s safety, such as Google’s Street View.

By MARK HAYWARD

New Hampshire Union Leader

October 7, 2008
MANCHESTER – Manchester’s police chief says Google Street View is a “pretty cool thing,” but he can see how a child predator could use it for illicit reasons.

Chief David Mara met yesterday with Stacie Remenap, the executive director of Stop Internet Predators. The national group is pressuring Google to take the images of children off Street View, which provides roadside images of homes, neighborhoods and buildings in many U.S. communities, including Manchester.

A predator could use Street View to view homes on a residential street and determine where children live, Mara said in an interview yesterday. A predator could also examine the exterior of houses where he knows children live, he said.

To read more of this story, please go here.

Boston Fox 25

October 6, 2008

To view this interview, go here.