WASHINGTON, DC – Late last night, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution, cosponsored by U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, to designate the month of June National Internet Safety Month to call attention to dangers the nation’s youth face on the internet.

“While we encourage our children to explore their world through the internet,” Senator Roberts said, “unfortunately this also makes them vulnerable to predators of the worst kind. It is critical for parents to educate and protect their children from the dangerous and dark corners of the World Wide Web.”

Threats posed to children on the internet include: access to sexually explicit content, information on drugs or alcohol, exposure to hate or cult groups, instructions to make explosive devices and risk of harassment or solicitation from online predators.

Across the nation, the statistics are troubling for youth ages 10 to 17 who regularly use the internet:

• 19 percent have received unwanted sexual solicitation;
• 25 percent have received unwanted exposure to sexual material;
• 6 percent are harassed.

For more information on Internet Safety please visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Netsmartz, a program providing tools for parents to educate children and teens on internet usage: http://www.netsmartz.org/