Statewide Cybersafety Program Begins In Tampa
Sep 5, 2007
Statewide Cybersafety Program Begins In Tampa
By Josh Poltilove of The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 5, 2007
TAMPA – Attorney General Bill McCollum plans to launch cybersafety programs in all of Florida’s middle schools and high schools, and he decided to start today in Tampa.
Rampello Magnet Downtown Partnership School held Florida’s first cybersafety program this morning.
The program’s goal is to teach students how to use the Internet safely and how to avoid sexual predators.
"We recognize the volume of bad guys out there right now looking for kids is just staggering," McCollum said.
A cybersafety Web site, safeflorida.net, was unveiled several weeks ago. It is aimed at helping parents, teens and young children use the Internet safely.
According to the site, Florida ranks fourth nationally in the volume of child pornography. "If we were a nation, we’d be sixth in the world at this volume," McCollum said.
Brandon resident Erin Berry, 13, said today’s program taught her she needs to be careful when using Web sites such as MySpace.
"There’s sexual predators out there that can hurt you, and you have to be smart about how to use the Internet," she said.