The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) will bring together more than 100 organizations from both the public and private sector to work with the government and make recommendations about how to keep children safe online.

The council will report directly to the Prime Minister with the goal to help improve the regulation and education around Internet use, addressing problems around online bullying, safer search features, and violent video games.

The coalition includes Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Bebo and will ensure that parents and young people have a voice in the development of a Child Internet Safety Strategy.

Specifically the strategy will:

• establish a comprehensive public information and awareness and child internet safety campaign across Government and industry including a ‘one-stop shop’ on child internet safety; 
• provide specific measures to support vulnerable children and young people, such as taking down illegal internet sites that promote harmful behaviour;
•  promote responsible advertising to children online; and
•  establish voluntary codes of practice for user-generated content sites, making such sites commit to take down inappropriate content within a given time.

"We are determined to do all we can to ensure that the internet environment is safe for children to use. Earlier this year, the Home Office published the first ever social networking guidance developed with industry, charities and law enforcement," said Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

Now, just as we Americans often hope that our entire nation won’t get lumped together, it’s only fair to point out that British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is the person behind this plan.  And she accurately stated, "The internet is a key tool for the propagandists for violent extremism."

The possible problem entered when Smith later continued, "Where there is illegal material on the net, I want it removed."

Lewis Page interpreted this to mean either of two things.  "One, the Brown cabinet are just grandstanding to technically ignorant voters.  They won’t do anything, safe in the knowledge that those voters will never realise this. . . .  Or, two, the government actually plans to build a Chinese-style Great Firewall of Blighty which will prevent anyone looking at anything which says ‘jihadi’ or ‘bomb’ or ‘TATP’ (whoops) etc."

More specifics on Smith’s plan are supposed to come in the weeks ahead – she’ll be talking to ISPs and members of the Muslim community.  In the meantime, though, we’re inclined to wish for a return to the happy old days of one month ago, when The Royal Channel on YouTube was formally launched.