Talk:Parry Aftab/revision of Parry Aftab

Parry Aftab is an American lawyer specializing in Internet privacy and security law, and is considered "one of the founders of the field of cyberlaw". She is the Executive Director of WiredSafety.org, a volunteer organization dedicated to online safety. She was featured in Chris Hansen's book, To Catch a Predator. She created the StopCyberbullying Coalition to help address cyberbullying and digital abuse issues. She was appointed to the federal NTIA Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG) and the Berkman Center's Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF). Facebook appointed her to its Safety Advisory Board. She advises MTV as well.

Biography
Aftab began working in the area of online safety in 1997. Her work expanded to helping educators.

Parry is married to a Canadian child advocate, Allan McCullough. She has two children.

Public policy positions
Aftab assisted the UN at its recent Cyberhate Conference.

Aftab was one of 24 experts and industry leaders appointed to the Congressionally created NTIA Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG) in 2009. She was one of the 29 members of the Berkman Center's Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF). On April 15, 2009 Parry joined Diane Sawyer in the first town meeting on morning TV, on the topic of sexting. She keynoted the Children and ICT event held in Gijón, Spain as part of the EU Safer Internet initiative.

In 2009, Parry Aftab created the StopCyberbullying Coalition to help address cyberbullying and digital abuse issues. The StopCyberbullying Coalition members include Facebook, AOL, Microsoft, Build-A-Bear, Procter & Gamble, Google, Yahoo!, Disney, Webkinz, the Girl Scouts of the USA, Buzz Marketing Group, MTV and others. Her work on sexting issues began in 1998 when a teen sent nude and sexual videos to a boy she liked. She is working with the families of the girls who took their own lives after their sexting images were used to harass them and were broadcast to their communities.

Facebook appointed Aftab to its Safety Advisory Board. She advises MTV as well.

Parry Aftab told the Minnesota School Board Association at their annual meeting in August 2009 that they need to address cyberbullying. She warned that they have to adopt a cell phone policy and enforce it.

Following September 11th, Parry Aftab's charity, WiredSafety, helped protect the families of those killed at the World Trade Center. She worked to help children worldwide get past the fear they felt following the attacks. She found a rescue worker who had worked at Ground Zero with his search and rescue dog, Servous. To help children understand the rescue dogs issue better, she wrote a children's story published on WiredKids.org.

Works

 * Child Abuse on the Internet. Ending the Silence, Carlos A. Arnaldo, Ed., Chapter 21: "The Technical Response: Blocking, Filtering and Rating the Internet", pp.135-140 (2001) ISBN 9231037285 ISBN 978-9231037283
 * Inocencia en Peligro : Conviva con sus Hijos y Protéjalos Cuando Naveguen por Internet (2001) ISBN 9701032977 ISBN 978-9701032978
 * The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace (1999) ISBN 0071357521 ISBN 978-0071357524
 * Parents Guide to the Internet: And How to Protect Your Children in Cyberspace (1997) ISBN 0966049101 ISBN 978-0966049107
 * Servous The Rescue Dog (online, undated)

Critical responses
Aftab was involved in a dispute surrounding the domain katie.com. In 2000, Penguin Putnam published a book titled Katie.com. A domain of the same name was already owned by Katie Jones. There arose a dispute between the publisher and Jones. In 2004, Aftab contacted Jones and, in an effort to address concerns relating to young people visiting Jones's site thinking it was the official book site of the story of a victim of an Internet sexual predator, asked Jones to consider either donating the site to a cybersafety charity or redirecting traffic from the young readers to the charity site. Jones refused. Aftab accused her of having a hidden agenda, which Jones considered to be cyberbullying in itself. In an interview, Jones stated that she was being emotionally blackmailed and that Aftab told her that "things would 'only get worse' for me" if she did not transfer the domain. Jones received massive support from the online community, and eventually Penguin renamed the book A Girl's Life Online.

Awards and honors
In June 2009, Aftab contributed to the United Nations "2009 Unlearning Intolerance Seminar" entitled, "Cyberhate: Danger in Cyber Space."

Original stuff below, with things removed as I no longer need them
Parry Aftab is an American lawyer specializing in Internet privacy and security law, and the Executive Director of WiredSafety.org, a volunteer organization dedicated to online safety. Aftab shut down her law practice in 2000. Recently she formed WiredTrust, a risk-management consulting firm dedicated to Web 2.0 best practices. WiredTrust offers the Socially Safe best practices seal. She was featured in Chris Hansen's book, To Catch a Predator as one of two advocates in the area of online safety, in his chapter "The Tale of Two Advocates". In this chapter, Hansen highlights the reasons Parry gave up her law firm and donates her time running WiredSafety.org. It started with an image of child pornography she discovered online. Parry is married to a Canadian child advocate, Allan McCullough.

Parry was asked to assist the UN at its recent Cyberhate Conference.UN Cyberhate Conference Press ReleaseMore about the UN Cyberhate Conference

She has two children, both now adults. Her daughter wrote about her in her college application essay as the person she admired more than anyone else in the world. Parry's Daughter's College EssayShe said her mom inspired her by showing that you can have it all. It just takes "unlimited energy." Jules Polonetsky, Chief Privacy Officer of AOL, said Parry was "part Wonder Woman, part Super Mom and part Oprah."

In 2009, Parry Aftab created the StopCyberbullying Coalition to help address cyberbullying and digital abuse issues. The StopCyberbullying Coalition members include Facebook, AOL, Microsoft, Build-A-Bear, Procter & Gamble, Google, Yahoo!, Disney, Webkinz, the Girl Scouts of the USA, Buzz Marketing Group, MTV and others. WiredSafety, the charity Parry formed and runs, was appointed to the Facebook Safety Advisory Board in December 2009. Her work on sexting issues began in 1998 when a teen sent nude and sexual videos to a boy she liked. She is working with the families of the girls who took their own lives after their sexting images were used to harass them and were broadcast to their communities. 

MTV appointed Parry Aftab to their advisory board and Facebook appointed her to its Safety Advisory Board in 2009.

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Parry Aftab was one of 24 experts and industry leaders appointed to the Congressionally created NTIA Online Safety and Technology Working Group (OSTWG) in 2009. She was one of the 29 members of the Berkman Center's Internet Safety Technical Task Force (ISTTF). On April 15, 2009 Parry joined Diane Sawyer in the first town meeting on morning TV, on the topic of sexting. She keynoted the Children and ICT event held in Gijon, Spain as part of the EU Safer Internet initiative

Parry Aftab told the Minnesota School Board Association at their annual meeting in August 2009 that they need to address cyberbullying to avoid liability as well as to improve school safety. She warned that they have to adopt a cell phone policy and enforce it. She has been very involved in sexting-related bullying issues and helping the families of the two sexting-suicide victims.

Following September 11th, Parry Aftab's charity (now known as WiredSafety) became very involved in helping protect the families of those killed at the World Trade Center. She worked to help children, worldwide, get past the fear they felt following the attacks. She found a rescue worker who had worked at Ground Zero with his search and rescue dog, Servous. To help children understand the rescue dogs issues better, she wrote a children's story published on WiredKids.org. Aftab has also contributed to the books Child Abuse on the Internet.... Ending the Silence (2001, editor Carlos A. Arnaldo), The Technical Response: Blocking, Filtering And Rating The Internet, The Best In E-Commerce Law (2001, Warren E.Agin), and was the editor of Children's Online Privacy Law.

Aftab was involved in a dispute surrounding the domain katie.com in 2004. In 2000, Penguin Putnam released a book titled Katie.com; the domain was owned by Katie Jones, which resulted in a dispute between her and the publisher. Four years later, Aftab contacted Jones and, in an effort to address concerns relating to young people visiting Jones' site, thinking it was the official book site of the story of a victim of an Internet sexual pedator, asked Jones to consider either donating the site to a cybersafety charity or redirecting traffic from the young readers to the official cybersafety charity site. When Jones refused, Aftab accused her of having a hidden agenda, which Jones considered to be cyberbullying in itself. In an interview, Jones stated that she was being emotionally blackmailed and that Aftab told her that "things would only get worse [for Jones]" if she did not hand over the domain. Jones received massive support from the online community, and eventually Penguin renamed the book A Girl's Life Online.


 * External links
 * Disney Press Information - Toontown Safety Information. Disney Online. 3 Apr. 2006
 * ForumStbgSept2005CVs_en. Council of Europe. 3 Apr. 2006
 * Internet Safety Resources - Biographies, Parry Aftab, Esq.. WiredSafety. 3 Apr. 2006
 * Linda Gilroy - Technology. LindaGilroy.org.uk. 4 Apr. 2006
 * Parry.pdf. COPA Commission. 3 Apr. 2006
 * Tarbox, Katherine. Katherine Tarbox. Katiet.com. 3 Apr. 2006
 * Congressional Testimony - Sub-Committee on Investigations and Oversight. 4 April 2006
 * Information Week Magazine's columnist's bio. 30 Mar. 2007