IRISH INDEPENDENT, page 6

By JOHN DOWNING

CHILDREN are vulnerable to unfair advertising and pornography on the Internet, Consumer Affairs Minister Pat Rabbitte warned yesterday.

Mr Rabbitte said a global Cyberlaw modelled on the international law of the sea is long overdue.

Opening a two-day forum on the Consumer and the Information Society at Dublin Castle, he said Ireland aims to advance preparation of such an EU-wide law before the six-month presidency stint ends in December.

RIGHTS

The Minister said legal safeguards applying in other media, such as television, must at minimum be extended to the computerised systems. He said there was an especially urgent need to safeguard children from pornography and from unscrupulous advertisers chasing the "lucrative cybertot category".

The conference was also addressed by EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner, Emma Bonino, who said that there is still a huge lack of consumer rights all across Europe.

ACTION

But she said that, against that, commercial interests are also realising that consumers are ready to turn away from products which do not meet the highest standards.

Mr Rabbitte said Cyberspace is no longer an abstract concept and must be subject to some type of juridical control. But he said its frontierless nature requires action by supra-national bodies like the EU and the World Trade Organisation.