‘Apply playground rules to internet use’

THE WORLDWIDE web, with all its hazards, is the new playground for children, says Google SA.

“As in any playground, you don’t abandon your children, but supervise and check how they are playing there,” the search engine’s public manager, Fortune Sibanda, told a conference in Pretoria on child abuse yesterday.

He urged guardians to take stringent steps, including adjusting search settings, to protect children from negative content on the internet.

“This is the new play- ground. Parents have to be involved and supervise it,” he said.

Sibanda said computers should be kept in a central place in the home.

“If the computer is in a central place, you will be able to know when your children go online. Help them to navigate safely.”

Minors had novel ways of searching for and accessing websites from which they had been blocked.

“Parents should talk to children and help them understand the dangers. Parents and care- givers should also adjust the settings to block unwanted stuff when the kids search.”

Sibanda said internet access obviously also held major benefits for children.

“Children can access their schoolwork on the net. They use it to research and find answers to their homework. That is a major benefit.”

Sibanda said Google SA, working with concerned parties and the government, had embarked on a major drive to educate South Africans on internet safety.

“The campaign promotes safe search of the internet. It teaches parents and caregivers to be cautious and protect children from unwanted material.”

The internet could be risky – for everyone.

“Offline and online worlds are not completely separate,” Sibanda said.

“We grew up being told not to talk to strangers. That is very useful when one uses the web.”

The three-day conference ended yesterday. It was hosted by the SA Professional Society on the Abuse of Children at the CSIR in Pretoria. – Sapa

“It is alleged that they were approached by an unknown man who threatened them and then left. A short while later, the man and a group of others arrived and allegedly damaged Mkhuluziza’s vehicle and assaulted Mkhuluziza and his friends with sticks, stones and knives,” police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said.

Mkhuluziza ran to a nearby house for help, but collapsed and died. The rest of the victims escaped from the vehicle. Some suffered injuries and were treated in hospital.

On Monday, one of the uninjured victims returned to the scene to search for Saineti and found his body in bushes next to a river. He had been stabbed multiple times in the back.

Police could not confirm whether this was a xenophobic attack.

Mkhuluziza and Saineti arrived in the country in 2006.

Mkhuluziza was married to a South African woman and had four children. He worked for a panelbeater in Pietermaritzburg.

Saineti worked for a businessman selling oranges and mealies in Alexandra Road. He is survived by a daughter and a wife.

The case has been adjourned and the accused were remanded for legal counsel and a possible bail application.