The new initiative called "Click Clever Click Safe" was created by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS).

"The internet provides our children with a world of entertainment, opportunity and knowledge – a world literally at their fingertips," said Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"But we must ensure that the virtual world is as safe for them as this one."

The government says that 99 percent of 8-17 year olds have access to the Internet. New research found that 18 percent of young people had come across "harmful or inappropriate content online," and 33 percent of children said their parents where unaware of what they do on the Internet.

Under the new initiative Internet companies, charities and the government will be independently reviewed against UKCCIS standards to keep children safe online. Young people and parents will be targeted by a new Digital Code "Zip it, Block it, Flag it," that will be adopted by retailers, social networking sites, schools and charities and displayed where appropriate.

Parents will be able to access a website for Internet safety advice hosted by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection center.

"Today we are launching our online version of the ‘green cross code’. We hope that ‘zip it, block it, flag it’ will become as familiar to this generation as ‘stop, look, listen’ did to the last," said Prime Minister Brown.
 

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Photo Credit: World Economic Forum

In 1994, hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were killed over the course of about 100 days, with the final (estimated) death toll approaching one million.  Press coverage was minimal, and the international community did little to interfere. 

But that was all before Twitter.  Brown talked to Katharine Viner about how Twitter has proven useful in Iran, and said, "You cannot have Rwanda again because information would come out far more quickly about what is actually going on and the public opinion would grow to the point where action would need to be taken."

Do you agree?  Disagree?  Let us know.

On a less controversial note, Brown then added, "Foreign policy can no longer be the province of just a few elites."

A DowningStreet Twitter account (not personally updated by Brown) exists if you’d like to keep up with the Prime Minister’s Office.

The new initiative called "Ask the PM" will be a regular event according to the prime minister. Participation is limited to UK residents only. Users can submit video questions on any subject and Brown will respond to the questions that receive the most votes at the end of June.

In an introductory video Brown says,"Politicians get a chance in prime minister’s question time and other question times – I think it’s time the public had a chance."

Brown was the opening speaker at Google’s London conference where he spoke about the role of technology in reducing crime and offering people better access to education and healthcare services.

"My aim is to ensure we utilize all the innovation at our disposal to improve public services in this country and to give more power to those who use them," he said.

The prime minister promised to move forward with electronic school report cards, online GP appointment booking, neighborhood "crime mapping" and video identification of suspects.

Brown hopes that by using YouTube he will able to reconnect with younger voters while giving the public a chance to communicate the issues that concern them most.
 

Figuratively speaking, anyway – Brown’s still in the UK, as far as we know.  Also, Google wasn’t the sole recipient of his request; Vodafone, Wal-Mart, Goldman Sachs, and about 15 other companies were named, as well, according to Larry Elliott and Sarah Boseley.

With those details out of the way, we can move on to one last clarification: Brown was asking for aid on behalf of the world’s poor, not himself or his government.  In 2000, the U.N. set seven development goals that it intended to have met by 2015, and things aren’t going too well.

If anything could repair the timeline, it’s probably that group of major corporations.  Still, Google has always had rather strict rules about unsolicited proposals, and shareholders everywhere would probably get upset if too much money got diverted from for-profit purposes.

On the other hand, it would be interesting to see Google add the British Prime Minister to its list of allies.  With a hat tip to Sean P. Aune, we’ll be sure to watch for future developments.