John Tyson, Jr. Helps Parents Identify Child Molesters:

Helping parents protect their children from exposure to internet pornography.

What John is Doing NOW:

Providing parents with steps they can take to keep their children safe on the internet:

We know there are two main ways that children are exposed to porn on the internet -- they search for it, or it comes to them unsolicited (through misleading web site links or links or emails from acquaintances or strangers). Either way, it is not legal and it is not right for underage individuals to be exposed to pornographic materials.

Not allowing access to the internet is really not the solution anymore, as more schools allow students to use the internet for homework assignments.

What parents can do:

Parents can do a great deal to help protect their children from this threat.

The most basic step is to place the internet-connected computer in a room that is frequently occupied by family members. Knowing the web sites a child visits and his or her "instant message" friends isn't intrusive, it's good parenting.

Teach their child basic internet safety skills:

• never send personal information to strangers over the internet
• never post personal information on profiles or personal web site pages
• never respond to suggestive or obscene emails, instant messages or other online communications
• never agree to meet face-to-face with someone met online

The next step is to use the child-safety features offered by their internet service providers (such as AOL or BellSouth).

Additional protection can be provided by filter software. These use more sophisticated search and information blocking techniques. We will be offering filter software that allows parents to quickly search their home computer for objectionable materials that may indicate their child is being exposed to pornographic speech or images.

Click here for information about online safety for children (pdf file) developed for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

What John Will Do As ATTORNEY GENERAL:

John will develop more easy to use information that citizens can use to protect themselves and their children and make it available to every citizen.