Describe 'Offences against minors (Computer Misuse)' and give a simple example of what a student working with IT in a school/college should...

On October 30, 1998 America legislated the Protection of Children From Sexual Predators Act:  Public Law No: 105-314.

Offenses against minors include

a) Use of minors in computer projects without consent of an adult or guardian

b)Child abuse and pornography

c) Exposing minors to adult content

d) Allowing minors to explore or access material intended for a mature audience.

This act does not only tries to protect minors, but also intended to protect minors from adults who have a history of pedophilia from accessing computers if they are in prison. While we cannot control what happens outside the boundaries of the law, an IT student can look into this and serve voluntarily as a resource that can help the police and other agencies to prevent child abuse and the misuse of computers for this purpose.

Title VIII of the Act states:

Title VIII:  Restricted Access to Interactive Computer Services - Prohibits any Federal agency, officer, or employee from implementing or providing financial assistance to any Federal program or activity in which a Federal prisoner is allowed access to any electronic communication or remote computing service without the supervision of a Government official.

Urges State Governors, legislators, and prison administrators to prohibit unsupervised access to the Internet by State prisoners.

One thing IT students should take into consideration is that the Internet does not need to be accessed through a computer: A good phone smuggled into a prison can be the source of lots of unethical practices. Many minors these days carry phones that can access the internet, and which may not filter websites that might be dangerous to them. Anyone with access to the Net, in whichever way or form, is in danger of being an object of abuse.  If you are an IT student and you abuse your privileges as a computer user, you may suffer consequences including removal of computer equipment, limitations to internet access, and even expulsion. IT students have to be especially careful to comply with every single rule regarding access to the web and following appropriate rules of netiquette.