Mom’s Verdict

Nearly every mother nurses a hope C the hope of keeping her child far away from Internet pornography and indecent content. In January 2010, a group of mothers were selected from a shortlist to be deputized for the “Mom Jury,” dedicating themselves to reporting on unseemly information provided by websites, in an effort to make sure children’s best interests are the first served.

Statistics show that Chinese netizens tend to be younger and younger. Among 384 million Internet users, 1.1 percent is under 10, and 31.8 percent are aged 10 to 19. In order to safeguard children from on-line pornography, at the beginning of January 2010, watchdog software was piloted in elementary and middle schools nationwide to filter, block or delete the pages with pornographic or violent content.

But it is indisputable that no device can be more effective than the watchful eyes of mothers for guarding the innocence of young minds. Zong Chunshan, director of Beijing Legal and Psychological Counseling Center for Adolescents and Youth, believes that human judgment is a vital supplement to high technologies in the combat against on-line evils. In decades past, Zong dedicated himself to youth crime prevention and the psychological education and self-protection of teenagers. Inspired by some campaigns supported by non-governmental organizations in the West and designed and run by ordinary mothers, he put forward the proposal of setting up a Mom Jury. The idea was put into reality this year with support of the Beijing Association of Online Media (BAOM).

By January 2010, BAOM selected the first group of adjudicators for the Mom Jury, and Zong Chunshan was among them. They are supposed to report indecent pages, propose countermeasures, alert the related government authorities to take action, and follow the measures recommended to achieve the desired effects.

According to jury constitution guidelines, membership is composed of a variety of professional fields and different classes, so teacher, lawyer, migrant worker and housewife alike all have their say, but at least 70 percent of a jury should be parents of elementary and middle school students.

It is reported that the board of jurists has received many responses since they opened up to applications. At present, the jury has registered 50 members and 200 other ratified people as backup volunteers. A swelling pool of mothers is waiting in the wings to join the hunting move.

Censoring Criteria

Huang Lu, a teacher at a Beijing middle school, has a daughter in grade two. As she remarks,“Today children are exposed to Internet at a very early age. They take computer courses as soon as they enter primary school, and many have to do assignments on the screen. The necessity of using the computer makes parents like me anxious and fearful. Every time my daughter surfs the web, I find myself standing to one side and surreptitiouslyhaving a look. I worry about her stumbling onto some nasty site by accident.”

Huang Lu gives her role on the Mom Jury campaign 100 percent of her attention, and she is also planning to apply for a permanent seat. “This is an excellent program that may purify the Internet for our children without invading their privacy. I believe that mothers like me all fret over children’s safety.”

The reason for initiating a Mom Jury and not a Dad Jury, according to Zong Chunshan, is that Moms are more perceptive and sensitive.“It doesn’t mean Dads can’t join in or must have nothing to do with Internet security though; the fight against Internet and cell phone pornography calls for a joint effort of both parents.”

At present, the jury carry out their censoring job on the basis of a 2009 government document specifying 13 standards for Lewd Internet Information. Offensive sites include those with photos and texts about human sexual organs, heavy petting and intercourse, indecent cartoons or comic strips, spiteful uploads violating people’s privacy and so on. To facilitate communication and collaboration between mom jurors, relevant authorities are designing an online forum for them, which will expedite exchanges within the group and with government departments.

Backlash

Like many kids of his age, 15 year-old Xu Zhiyong has a penchant for online games. In the spell of a vacation, he spends over 4 hours a day surfing the net. Asked of the idea of moms playing guardian angles in the virtual world, he sneered: “Our moms were all born in the 1960s or 1970s. The generation gap means we hold different opinions on many topics. Take online games for example, most parents are prejudiced against them C they have a jaundiced view because they hear of improper and violent scenes. In fact, they have no idea of gaming and no willingness to look into it either.”

The censored youngsters and others raise questions about how deputized moms carry out their obligations and what the benefits really are to society.

Sun Yunxiao, deputy director of the China Youth and Children Research Center, cautions that Internet censorship requires socially comprehensive opinions, dimensions not only brought by moms but by teenagers also. “To express opinions is a youngster’s right, and should be seriously respected.” Considering this point, Zong Chunshan also reckons that blocking pornographic information is only one step away from an Internet content classification system C an idea still being floated. His opinion is that the Internet environment will be safer for minors only when a proper rating system is launched.