SPARKLEBOX STATEMENT OF DEEP CONCERN SAYS ROSS
Democratic Unionist Education Committee member Alastair Ross MLA has today spoken in the Northern Ireland Assembly after the Education Minister delivered a statement to the House. The Minister informed Members that the founder of website Sparklebox, a site aimed at children and used by teachers and parents, was convicted of child pornography charges for a second time.
Commenting today, Mr Ross said,
“The welfare of children must be the first concern when we hear news that the founder of Sparklebox, a resource website for key stage one and key stage two children, has for the second time been convicted of child pornography charges.
It is concerning that it was nearly a month after C2K learnt of the issue that the Education Minister found out. Why was she not aware of this immediately and why are there not protocols for serious matters of this magnitude being immediately being relayed to the Minister?
Furthermore, whom did C2K consult when they decided that they did not need to block the website, and why did they take this decision whilst other authorities across the UK took more assertive action?
Many parents will find it unacceptable that a man who had previous convictions for downloading child pornography was able to change his forename and set up a website aimed at children. It gives them no confidence that the right safety measures are in place to deal with individuals with convictions relating to children.
The statement by the Minister is particularly relevant today as this is the beginning of the Internet Safety Week. The internet is a fantastic resource and has changed the world in a range of positive ways, but unfortunately it can also be abused by those who seek to exploit vulnerable children or share illegal material.
I hope that a full investigation into this matter will commence immediately and appropriate safeguards and protocols will be put in place as soon as possible.”
