Websites For Children Obliged To Register Their Moderators :: Laurence Kaye

ARTICLE Websites for children obliged to register their moderators If you operate an interactive website likely to be used by children, then from Oct 12th 2009, you will be required to check that any employee that ‘moderates’ your site is not barred from working with children. An employee will be considered to ‘moderate’ a site if for the purpose of protecting children, he/she has any function relating to— (a) monitoring the content of matter which forms any part of the service, (b) removing matter from, or preventing the addition of matter to, the service, or (c) controlling access to, or use of, the service. But a person does not moderate a public electronic interactive communications service …unless he has— (a) access to the content of the matter; (b) contact with users of the service. The Independent Safeguarding Authority (the government body set up to conduct checks on individuals who wish to work with children) has said that an employee would need to have access to two-way communication with users for the new legislation to apply. So, say, you collect e-mail addresses from your users as part of your registration process, (thereby enabling two way communication) the legislation would likely apply. If you believe that your activity falls within the scope of the new law, you will have to register your staff with the Independent Safeguarding Authority who will check staff against a ‘barred’ list of individuals complied by the Criminal Records Bureau. Further information: •

The relevant legislation is the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/pdf/ukpga_20060047_en.pdf). This has been expanded to cover websites by a commencement Order (www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/pdf/uksi_20090039_en.pdf).

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Independent Safeguarding Authority (www.isa-gov.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=8)

Mailin Bala Laurence Kaye Solicitors © Laurence Kaye 2009 T: 01923 352 117 E: [email protected] www.laurencekaye.com http://laurencekaye.typepad.com/

Page 2 26 February 2009

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