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Family Online Safety Institute
AbbreviationFOSI
FormationFebruary 2007
Purpose"The Family Online Safety Institute works to make the online world safer for kids and their families by identifying and promoting best practice, tools and methods in the field of online safety, that also respect free expression."
HeadquartersWashington, DC
Stephen Balkam
Websitehttps://www.fosi.org/

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) is an international nonprofit organization. It is registered as a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity in the United States and a registered charity in the United Kingdom. FOSI was founded in February 2007 by Stephen Balkam, who had created the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA).[1] FOSI is chaired by Dave Pierce, Vice President of Public Affairs, NCTA.[2]

Membership

The Family Online Safety Institute is a membership-based organization, members pay an annual stipend to FOSI. In turn FOSI uses this funding for its general operation and to further its goals and mission. Each of the FOSI members have a representative on the Board of Directors.[2]

Full members of FOSI include prominent American and British companies. Members include AOL, AT&T,[3] Comcast,[4] Facebook, France Telecom, Entertainment Software Association, GSM Association,[5] Google, Microsoft, National Cable & Telecommunications Association,[6] Nominum,[7] Optenet[8] KCOM Group,[5] Rulespace,[5] Sprint,[9] Streamshield,[5] Symantec,[10] T-Mobile USA,[11] Telefonica, Telmex, Time Warner Cable,[12] CTIA – The Wireless Association, Verizon,[13] Vodafone[14] and Yahoo!.

Events and annual conferences

Annual conferences

2013

The Family Online Safety Institute's 2013 Annual Conference will be taking place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, in Washington DC.[15] This year’s conference, being held on November 6 and 7, will bring together the top thinkers in online safety: academics, educators, law enforcement, industry, policy makers, and non-profits.

2012

FOSI's 2012 Annual Conference, "A Safer Internet For All" was held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC on November 14–15, 2012.[16] The conference featured over 80 speakers, 20 exhibitors and more than 450 attendees from at least 14 different countries.

Notable speakers included Karen Cator,[17] Nancy Lublin, Constance M. Yowell of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Dr. Howard J. Schaffer,[18] and Dr. Michael Rich from the Center on Media and Child Health.

2011

FOSI's 2011 Annual Conference, "Evaluate. Innovate. Collaborate. Strategies for Safe and Healthy Online Use" was held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC on November 9–10, 2011.[19] The conference featured over 80 speakers, 26 exhibitors and more than 450 attendees from 13 different countries.

Notable speakers included Dominican Republic Vice President Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, Dr. Edward Amoroso of AT&T, and Michael Altschul of CTIA – The Wireless Association.

2010

FOSI's 2010 Annual Conference, "Internet Freedom, Safety and Citizenship: A Global Call to Action" was held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC on November 9–10, 2010.[20] The conference had 400 attendees, 90 speakers and 31 exhibitors from 13 countries.

Notable speakers included Microsoft's Peter Cullen, Tami Erwin of Verizon Wireless, Anna M. Gomez of National Cable & Telecommunications Association, United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Josh Gottheimer, and Karen Cator.[17]

2009

FOSI's 2009 Annual Conference, "Building a Culture of Responsibility: From Online Safety to Digital Citizenship," was held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC on November 4–5, 2009.[21] The conference had 350 attendees, 80 speakers and 31 exhibitors from 15 countries. Technology writer and journalist, Larry Magid described the event as "a watershed moment in the 16-year history of online safety education."[22]

2008

FOSI's 2008 Annual Conference, "Safe at Any Speed: Online Safety Tools, Rules and Public Policies", was held at the Newseum in Washington, DC on December 11, 2008.[23] At the conference, FOSI made a series of recommendations for the new Obama Administration and called for:

The conference included over 300 attendees from 4 continents, 11 countries, and featured 60 speakers on 11 expert panels and 22 exhibitors.

2007

FOSI held its inaugural annual conference "Rights and Responsibility: Child Protection in a Web 2.0 World" on December 6, 2007 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.[24] The conference was covered by C-SPAN.[25]

Notable speakers included Google Vice President and Chief Internal Evangelist Vint Cerf, U.S. Ambassador David Gross, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Deborah Tate and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras.[24][26]

Sponsors for the Conference include Verizon, AT&T, GSMA, RuleSpace, Crisp Thinking, Symantec, Google, Blue Coat,[27] Comcast, CTIA, Microsoft, CompTIA, AOL and InternetSafety.com.[26]

2013 events

2012 events

2011 events

2010 events

Topics of discussion included:

2009 events

2008 events

2007 events

Internet Content Rating Association

In 2007, FOSI was created and subsumed the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) and its day-to-day operations. ICRA developed and implemented a content labeling system that allows webmasters to clearly and accurately label their websites. These labels identify content in accordance with criteria developed by an independent third party. In accordance with FOSI goals, ICRA does not serve to rate the content of websites. ICRA provides the labeling system and encourages content providers to self-rate.[49]

Discontinuation

In October 2010, the ICRA labeling engine was discontinued by FOSI. FOSI has withdrawn all support for the ICRA rating system and taken down all documentation for labeling websites with ICRA ratings.[50]

References

  1. ^ Stephen Balkam Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, FOSI
  2. ^ a b FOSI's Board of Directors Archived 2013-04-15 at archive.today (Retrieved October 22, 2013).
  3. ^ RedOrbit "AT&T Joins Forces with the Family Online Safety Institute to Protect Children From Inappropriate Content" (Feb. 13 2007) (Retrieved July 6, 2010)
  4. ^ Comcast "Comcast Voices, The Official Comcast Blog" (Retrieved July 6, 2010)
  5. ^ a b c d "AT&T Joins Forces with the Family Online Safety Institute to Protect Children from Inappropriate Content; Company Broadens Efforts to Educate Families About the Importance of Internet Safety". AT&T (Press release). February 13, 2007. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011.
  6. ^ Cable in the Classroom "NCTA Joins Preeminent Online Safety Group" (Dec. 17, 2008) (Retrieved July 8, 2010)
  7. ^ Nominum "Nominum Joins Online Safety Group" Archived 2013-01-30 at archive.today (December 18, 2008) (Retrieved October 15, 2012)
  8. ^ "Optenet Joins Family Online Safety Institute" Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine (June 8, 2009) (Retrieved, July 8, 2010).
  9. ^ Sprint|News Release "Sprint Teams Up with the Family Online Safety Institute to Protect Kids Anywhere They Can Access the Web" (Dec. 8, 2008) (Retrieved July 8, 2010).
  10. ^ "Symantec and the Family Online Safety Institute Join Forces to Make the Online World Safer for Kids and Their Families; Symantec Internet Safety Advocate Marian Merritt Joins FOSI Board of Directors". Symantec (Press release). November 19, 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  11. ^ "T-Mobile USA Partners with FOSI to Champion Best Digital Practices" Archived 2013-04-23 at the Wayback Machine (Feb. 7, 2013) (Retrieved April 18, 2013)
  12. ^ Spangler, Todd "Time Warner Cable Joins Internet Safety Group" (Feb. 25, 2010) (Retrieved July 8, 2010)
  13. ^ Caroline McCarthy (2008-08-15). "Myspace parent company joins Family Online Safety Institute". CNet News.com. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  14. ^ "Vodafone Becomes Newest FOSI Member" Archived 2013-08-06 at the Wayback Machine (July 8, 2013) (Retrieved July 9, 2013).
  15. ^ "Annual Conference 2013 Overview". Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  16. ^ 2012 Conference Archived 2012-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, FOSI
  17. ^ a b "Department of Education". .ed.gov. 2010-05-18. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  18. ^ Nelson, Sarah E.; Gray, Heather M.; Maurice, Ingrid R.; Shaffer, Howard J. (2012). "Harvard Medical School". Community Mental Health Journal. Divisiononaddiction.org. 48 (6): 711–722. doi:10.1007/s10597-012-9490-5. PMID 22350627. S2CID 8024129. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  19. ^ 2011 Conference Archived 2013-04-14 at archive.today, FOSI
  20. ^ 2010 Conference Archived 2013-04-15 at archive.today, FOSI
  21. ^ 2009 Conference Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, FOSI
  22. ^ Magid, Larry Connect Safely "A Watershed Moment for Internet Safety" Archived 2010-12-06 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 8, 2010).
  23. ^ 2008 Conference Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, FOSI
  24. ^ a b 2007 Conference Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, FOSI
  25. ^ Protecting Children on the Internet, C-SPAN Video Library
  26. ^ a b RedOrbit "Family Online Safety Institute, Industry Leaders to Discuss the State of Online Safety at Annual Conference" (Dec. 6, 2007) (Retrieved July 6, 2010).
  27. ^ Blue Coat "Blue Coat Joins Family Online Safety Institute to Protect Kids in the Web 2.0 World" (May 27, 2008)
  28. ^ "Melbourne 2013". Archived from the original on 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  29. ^ "European Forum 2013". Archived from the original on 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  30. ^ FOSI "European Forum 2012" Archived 2013-02-03 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved October 15, 2012).
  31. ^ FOSI "Doha Conference" Archived 2012-05-11 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved October 15, 2012).
  32. ^ Powers, William (29 June 2010). Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age. ISBN 978-0-06-168716-7.
  33. ^ FOSI "Survey Release and Panel Discussion" Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved October 15, 2012).
  34. ^ a b FOSI "FOSI European Conference 2010" Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 8, 2010).
  35. ^ FOSI "Gulf Conference" Archived 2011-08-09 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved July 8, 2010).
  36. ^ 2009 Events "FOSI European Conference, 16 September, 2009 Paris" Archived 2013-04-14 at archive.today (Retrieved October 15, 2012).
  37. ^ a b The Free Library "Digital Citizenship and Responsible Online Use Key Components to Kids' Online Safety" (Retrieved July 2, 2010).
  38. ^ a b 2008 events Archived 2011-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, FOSI
  39. ^ Growing Up Online, PBS
  40. ^ Rachel Dretzin, PBS
  41. ^ Rachel Dretzin, IMDB
  42. ^ Youtube "Growing Up ONline Interview with Rachel Dretzin" (Oct. 13, 2008).
  43. ^ Amanda Lenhart Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Pew Internet
  44. ^ Adam Thierer, Progress and Freedom Foundation
  45. ^ a b c "Previous Events 2007 "European launch of the Family Online Safety Institute"". Fosi.org. Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  46. ^ Anne Collier, Net Family News
  47. ^ Guardian "Internet Safety Gets Powerful Champion" (Retrieved October 12, 2012).
  48. ^ a b FOSI Previous Events "Madrid Workshop and Round Table" Archived 2009-10-10 at the Portuguese Web Archive(Sept. 26, 2007) (Retrieved July 9, 2010).
  49. ^ "ICRA". Fosi.org. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  50. ^ "Family Online Safety Institute". ICRA. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
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