MANA, A National Latina Organization, with headquarters in Washington, DC, twenty five chapters nationwide and six affiliates across the nation announced its partnership with Stop Internet Predators, a nation-wide coalition launched to educate parents and communities on emerging online child safety issues and empower them to protect their children's privacy and safety.
Google's controversial new application "Street View" provides
online users 360 degree street level images of physical addresses. Anyone
with an Internet connection can type an address and digitally cruise
images of
neighborhoods. Photographs uploaded to the program have captured images
of children on front yards, boarding the school bus or playing
in the
local park, Stop Internet Predators says.
Parents should be aware of new online technologies, their safety
implications and restriction options to protect children's privacy
and
overall safety, according to a press release.
"'Street View' is especially alarming to me since it allows anyone
with an
Internet connection to map the most likely route a child walks to school,
and the distance between the school bus stop the front door of a home,
and even find the location of families' bedroom windows," explains
Alma Riojas, President and CEO of MANA, A National Latina Organization. "It
is imperative to make parents aware of this technology and inform them
of how to remove photos of their children if found on the website."
"I am honored to partner with MANA on this child safety effort," said
Stacie Rumenap, Executive Director of Stop Child Predators. "Their
focus on empowering women in the Latino community is exceptional and
we are glad they will help us to educate women and families across the
country of the threat technologies like Google 'Street View' may bring."
Stop Internet Predators is a project of Stop Child Predators, launched
to
educate parents and communities on emerging online child safety issues
and empower them to protect their children's privacy and safety. Stop Internet
Predators has a special focus on new internet technologies that pose a
risk to their children's safety, such as Google's Street View. For more
information on the campaign, please visit www.StopInternetPredators.org.