Family Online Safety Institute Congratulates Obama on Inauguration Day

WASHINGTON – January 20, 2009 – The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) today congratulated President Obama on being inaugurated the 44th President of the United States and applauded his inaugural address calling for greater responsibility. In his speech, President Obama spoke on the importance of increased responsibility where Americans would embrace a new era of accountability. FOSI is also committed to this idea and has called for a Culture of Responsibility that requires all players in the online safety space to take on an increased role to protect children on the Internet.

For FOSI, a new Culture of Responsibility entails an enlightened government, engaged law enforcement, responsible industry, tech-trained teachers, empowered parents and resilient kids who make wise choices online. With cooperation from each group, working together responsibly, online safety issues will be better resolved.

“On this momentous day in history, it is fitting that President Obama focused his inaugural speech on the importance of embracing responsibility,” said Stephen Balkam, CEO of FOSI. “At FOSI, we believe in a Culture of Responsibility where every player in the online safety space is accountable for protecting children online. President Obama has emphasized the need for a more tech savvy administration and combined with this responsibility initiative, it is my hope that we are able to work together to better protect children online.”

For more information on FOSI’s Culture of Responsibility read Stephen Balkam’s Huffington Post article here.

About the Family Online Safety Institute

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) works to make the online world safe for kids and their families by identifying and promoting best practices, tools and methods that also respect free speech. FOSI’s members include: AOL, AT&T, Blue Coat, BT Retail, Cisco, Comcast, Computing Technology Industry Association, Crisp Thinking, France Telecom/Orange, Google, GSMA, Loopt, Microsoft, Mpower Media, MySpace, NCTA, Ning, Privo, Rulespace, Sentinel, Sprint, StreamShield, Symantec, Telefónica, Telmex, The Wireless Foundation, and Verizon. FOSI hosts an annual international conference to bring together Internet safety advocates from a variety of sectors, including global corporations, government, non-profits, academia and the media, to discuss the current pulse of online safety and emerging solutions that will enhance it. For more information, please visit www.fosi.org.