One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit organization wants to provide every child in developing nations with a laptop and the opportunities that come with it. Apparently the organization did not consider the dangers involved.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported this week that children who receive the laptops are using them to visit pornographic websites. "Efforts to promote learning with laptops in a primary school in Abuja have gone awry as the pupils freely browse adult sites with explicit sexual materials." Reuters reported that One Laptop Per Child said it will now install filters on the laptops.
This mirrors findings in the United States. In May the New York Times wrote that schools which had been offering students free laptops were now shutting down the programs. Besides technical problems, students were using the laptops to download pornography. One school tried to improve network security, and a 10th grader promptly posted instructions on how to get around it.
The spread of information communication technologies is critical to helping developing communities and nations. But simply offering computers to students in other countries, with no thought for their safety and the dangers of the Internet is irresponsible. Particularly when we have the same problems here at home. Students and schools in these situations would be better served if the Internet and content were served in such a way that allows choice and control.
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