FG charges IT firms on anti pornography software development
The Federal Government, on Friday, challenged information technology companies to develop inexpensive software that will prevent online abuse of children.
The Minister of Information and Communication, Prof Dora Akunyili, made the appeal in Abuja during a media briefing ahead of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. Having the theme: ‘Protecting Children in Cyberspace,‘ the day is scheduled to be marked on May 17, 2009. Akunyili said that software companies should also develop voluntary codes and software that would be able to block pornography from computers used by children.
According to her, recent surveys conducted by the International Telecommunications Union indicated that over 60 per cent of children and teenagers talk in chat rooms on daily basis.
She added that the survey also indicated that three in four children online were willing to share personal information about themselves and their family in exchange for services, just as one in five children is targeted by predators or paedophiles each year.
The minister noted that it was in a bid to address the situation that the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebration for 2008 sought to ensure that children can safely access the internet and its valuable resources without the fear of falling prey to unscrupulous predators in cyber space.
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