[LINK] NetAlert Campaign 'truth' finally coming out

[Jan Whitaker]

[You gotta hand it to the ex-government. Coonan could spin it with 
the best of them. Gee, what is an eight letter word that means a 
person you don't know and rhymes with danger? BTW, the package that 
came to me was promptly marked 'return to sender' and put in the 
nearest Aussie Post box, just like the anti-'terror' bogeyman campaign]


http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/coalition-internet-campaign-inaccurate/2007/12/14/1197568265011.html

Coalition internet campaign 'inaccurate'
Peter Mares
December 15, 2007

INDUSTRY professionals have raised doubts about the accuracy of 
statistics used in the Howard government's multimillion-dollar 
internet safety campaign. The NetAlert campaign used media 
advertisements and billboards to warn of the risks to children and 
teenagers online.

One advertisement said a survey had shown that more than half of 
11-15-year-olds who chatted online were contacted by strangers. 
Another claimed a survey had shown that almost half of 
11-14-year-olds had viewed websites their parents would find 
alarming. Similar statistics were quoted in the NetAlert information 
booklet sent to every household.

The then communications minister, Helen Coonan, said the statistics 
were drawn from a study commissioned by the government. But she 
refused to make the research public, saying it contained personal 
information. The Age has obtained the research, a survey prepared by 
the Wallis Consulting Group, under freedom of information laws. It 
does not contain any personal information.

The claim in the campaign regarding stranger contact does not appear 
in the government-commissioned research. The question was not posed 
in this form. Participants were asked: "When chatting online, have 
you ever been contacted by someone you haven't met in real life?" 
More than half answered "yes".

But when asked who they chatted to or messaged, they said 
communication was mostly with friends (96%), friends of friends (31%) 
or people met online who their parents had said "it is all right to 
talk to" (20%). Only 14% chatted or messaged with "just a mixture of 
people including strangers".

Experts criticise the NetAlert statistics for including "friends of 
friends" and anyone not met in the physical world in the category of 
strangers. It says this inflates the statistic.

Peter Mares presents the National Interest, Sunday at midday on ABC 
Radio National.

Jan Whitaker
JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
personal: http://www.janwhitaker.com/personal/
commentary: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/

Living, like writing, requires no wisdom. Only revising does. - Jim 
Sollisch, Sept, 2007
'Seed planting is often the most important step. Without the seed, 
there is no plant.' - JW, April 2005
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