Websites must police 'dark side' of internet

MPs have urged online companies to do more to protect children from the "dark side" of the internet.

The Commons culture, media and sport committee said on Thursday that some sites had taken a "lax approach" to removing illegal material.

It called on companies to police websites to ensure children were not exposed to abusive or violent content.

The committee warned that hardcore pornography and videos of fights, bullying or alleged rape could be found on the internet.

And it pointed to research suggesting that 16 per cent of 8- to 15-year-olds had come across "nasty, worrying or frightening" material online.

The MPs recommended an industry self-regulation body be set up to police minimum standards to protect internet users from harmful content, but stopped short of calling for statutory regulation.

While the report praised the efforts of some companies, such as Microsoft and MySpace, it criticised YouTube, claiming that the video-sharing site did not go far enough in vetting clips only after they had been flagged up by users.

Committee chairman John Whittingdale said: "The internet has transformed all our lives and is overwhelmingly a force for good. However, there is a dark side and many parents are rightly anxious about the dangers to their children that may be lurking within.

"The vast majority of the internet industry is keen to be seen to be acting responsibly and companies have already put in place a wide range of measures to protect vulnerable people from harm.

"However, more needs to be done. In particular, there needs to be an independent body comprised of industry representatives and lay members to police self-regulation and to give consumers confidence.

"This model works well in other industries and if effective, is vastly preferable to statutory controls."

Classification

The news came as the government announced a consultation on ways to improve video game classification, with a legally enforcable system to ensure games are played by the appropriate age group.

"The current system of classification comes from a time when video games were in their infancy," culture minister Margaret Hodge said.

"In recent years there have been extraordinary developments in technology, with increasingly realistic gameplay and highly evolved storylines. At the same time, more and more games are now accessed on line.

"We have also seen a big growth in games aimed at a grown-up market, which invariably include scenes unsuitable for young people. The games market has simply outgrown the classification system, so today we are consulting on options that will make games classification useful and relevant again."