Tablets for children can be risky

Children who use tablets or phones can risk coming across inappropriate material online.

 

Culture Secretary Maria Miller warns parents to ensure that anti-porn filters are applied to their children’s tablets as they are expected to be one of the top Christmas sellers this year.

 

Mrs Miller said: “For parents and children, the internet is fast becoming part of everyday life at work, at school and socially but parents are rightly wary about what children are being exposed to online.”

 

She warns parents that not all tablets come with filters. TalkTalk and Sky already have network filters available which means parents do not have to install one on every separate device. BT and Virgin will also follow in the next two months.

 

The top four internet service providers in Britain will also ask all households whether they want to install a filter over the next year, but until then, parents need to take the initiative and install filters themselves.

 

A recent report showed a huge rise in the number of younger children owning tablets this year with iPads and Kindles the most popular to sell out. However, Tesco and Argos will be joining the market with more affordable versions.

 

There may be some concern among parents, but as long as age-appropriate filters are put in place, they will have nothing to worry about.