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'Street View' Images Draw Concern

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By MICHELE SAGER

msager@tampatrib.com

Published: November 5, 2008

LAKE MAGDALENE - Cruising along the streets of Westchase neighborhoods, it's easy to spot normal neighborhood activity.
Landscapers lay mulch in a pristine yard. A resident has stacked plastic water bottles in a recycling bin on a driveway. A jogger runs past Davidsen Middle School.

While it might seem normal to see such routine activities in suburbia, what is unusual is that all of these actions were spotted without entering Westchase. They were digital images found on the "street view" feature of Google's mapping software program.

And while residents might be uncomfortable with the online intrusion, it can become dangerous when children are added to the mix, online safety experts say.

"A predator can cruise playgrounds, schools or even homes to find where children are located," said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators, a national organization that campaigns for legislation to prevent the exploitation of children.

She and about 20 representatives from law enforcement, social services and other agencies recently met to discuss the issues of online safety. Their goal is to develop an action plan to educate adults and children about online dangers.
Google employees drive neighborhood streets to take the 360-degree images. So an online user can see an entire neighborhood from any point on that street. Parents may contact Google if their child shows up in an image and the company will blur the face. But Rumenap said that isn't enough.

"We need to push them to completely remove the image," she said. "We don't want to give any indication that a child might live or hang out at the site."

The group also discussed ways to get parents interested and informed on these issues.

"I go out to schools and talk with parents at meetings," said Lt. Michael Baute with the Florida attorney general's office. "But quite frankly, we're not reaching the people we need to reach. Informed parents are going to make the effort to come. It's the uninformed parents that we need to reach."
Baute said he has suggested schools and other groups partner with businesses to give away free items to entice parents to come to meetings. PTA County Council President Tammy Cummings also suggested pairing information nights with school performances.

"Parents will come to see their children perform no matter what the age," she said. "So before the performance is when you can give some time to go over this information."

Rumenap said parents need to know what to monitor.

"It's not just MySpace and Facebook pages," she said. "Predators work through cell phone text messages, dating sites and Craigslist."

Rumenap gave an example of a 16-year-old girl who bought something through Craigslist. When she went to pick up the item, she was beaten and raped.

"We don't want to stop the technology from happening," Rumenap said. "But we want do safeguard it."

Some of the suggestions the group came up with to get information out:

•Combine resources with existing groups tackling these issues.

•Get retailers to provide information when selling technology.

•Get information out to after-school programs and pediatricians' offices.

•Pressure Internet service providers to list disclaimers before users log onto the Web.

Additional information and resources are available at stopchildpredators.org and www.netsmartz411.org, a site from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

TIPS FOR PARENTS

•Limit the features on your child's cell phone. Phone providers can restrict which numbers your child calls.

•Warn teens against sending inappropriate photos as jokes or as love notes.

•Monitor photos and messages in your child's e-mail, social networking pages and phones regularly.

•Learn text message lingo. Web sites offer translations for common terms.

Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 865-1523.

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