The new Internet usage review report has recommended the creation of a UK council overlooking child Internet safety. It would be established by (and reporting to) the Prime Minister. The council is expected to serve as the ‘conscience of the industry’, and would encourage it to take more responsibility for doing away with inappropriate content, promoting/improving parental control software as well as regulating online advertising. The review has called for e-safety lessons in all schools and has recommended a campaign for informing parents, teachers, etc. on ensuring safe usage of the Internet.

The Children’s Secretary, Ed Balls stated he accepted all of the recommendations and would like to ‘take them forward’. The Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham hinted that the public education campaign might well be funded by industry (and not by the Government). The Prime Minister had commissioned Dr Byron’s report last year in response to increasing worries about the purported dangers of the digital world, exposing children to harmful content. Even while other nations are looking to tackle similar problems, Gordon Brown is hopeful that the UK can make use of the opportunity offered by Dr Byron’s report to set the global standard for child digital safety.