There is more than enough resource and personal experience why most of us whose work revolves around having internet access can conclude that the internet is not safe.
Why then is there a need for a separate Internet Safety advocacy network specifically tailored to the Philippine market? Well, the answer is both simple and complicated.
Simple
We need a separate Internet Safety advocacy, blog, or system simply because we face different threat models and our boundary of trust is completely different than the rest of developing countries.
Complicated
Isn't it funny how a couple of words in the statement above managed to complicate the matter? Threat Profiles and Boundary of Trust, this is what makes it complicated.
Threat Profile
When we talk about Threat Profiles here, we mean the identified grouping of threats in a particular situation or condition for a group of people. A group of people may be grouped or sub-grouped by age-range, gender, employment, area of residence, sexual orientation, or learning institution among of the many possible groupings and without bias or discrimination. This brief definition is definitely not exhaustive and we will tackle this slowly as our publication progresses.
Boundary of Trust
Here in our country, the Philippines, where most of us are warm, jolly, friendly, and hospitable our Boundary of Trust is definitely not the same with the developed countries and our neighboring developing countries. While this is identified by most as a positive character trait, it does put our citizens into situations which may cause them harm. It is part of our goal to identify what conditions should we consider as possibly harmful.
Consensus Solution
While online safety and crime happens behind a keyboard and involved some technical know-how, the consensus solution from different organizations publishing about Internet Safety and Online Child Safety is that technical solutions can only do little. That the real issue with Internet Safety is a social problem and social problems neccessitate a social solution.
The published independent reports by the United States and Australian government does not however disregard technical solutions to support the social solution any other institution may be able to come up with or is already available.
Be Part of the Solution
This small section of the internet or the blogosphere so to speak will never be noticed without a vibrant community contributing information and providing feedback. With that in mind, we invite you to join us in our advocacy to raise awareness on Internet Safety here in the Philippines.