NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Vice President Al Gore and a coalition of high-tech firms Wednesday announced new online resources to help place parents "one click away" from protecting their children from offensive material on the Internet.
Public outrage over the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., two weeks ago helped fuel the initiative.
Gore was scheduled to detail the program in a speech Wednesday afternoon.
The program, to be reached by clicking on a link from leading Web pages, will feature a Web site with online safety tips, a guide to software that filters out offensive material, links to sites for reporting crimes online and a listing of sites with content appropriate for children.
Several high-tech firms, including America Online Inc. (AOL), AT&T Corp. (T) and Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) will participate in the program
Although the direct causes of the shooting by two Colorado teenagers remains unknown, public opinion polls found many people blaming objectionable information readily accessible on the Internet, particularly pornographic material, violent video games and sites run by hate groups.
Separately, the Federal Communications Commission is considering boosting funding by about $1 billion for a program to wire schools and libraries to the Internet, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
FCC officials told the Journal that Chairman William Kennard said the program's funding should be increased to $2.25 billion next year to ensure needy rural schools can acquire the technology they need. |
