Security on the Internet / Offensive contents

The better and the worst

You can find anything on the Internet. From the most useful to the most insignificant, from the most sublime to the most degrading, from the most instructive to the most absurd falsities, not to mention a remarkable spirit of mutual cooperation to a minority of swindlers always on the look-out for something. Each one is free to take or leave what is appropriate in this abundance. Occasionally, however, cyber surfers are exposed with contents that they judge offensive. It could be a question of pornography, misinformation, racist or heinous matters, and even an incentive to illicit or criminal behavior, etc.

One wonders rightly what is advisable to do in such a case. The parents will want to protect their children from an exposure to contents which could hinder their growth or which go against the values that they want to transmit. Some decent people would like to see the truth being restored. Some citizens could not let crimes be committed without reacting. If tracks of solution do exist, none constitutes alone a final rampart against this kind of problem. Since it is here obviously a question of personal value, none could replace the judgment of each individual.

Internet poses, with a new acuity, the old freedom of expression problem and its limits. This is the reason why, when there is no legal implication, often the best attitute to adopt is to ignore such disturbing contents. Indeed, nothing can force you to stay or return on a site where offensive ideas or pictures that meet with your disagreement are displayed.

In case of prejudice or illegality

It is possible, however, that certain contents on the Internet may persecute unconsciously an individual, even if he decides to ignore them. It is always possible to communicate with the authors to try and restore the facts, to ask for a corrective measure or to eliminate them. In the absence of other indications on the person to be contacted, an e-mail address similar to the model below generally makes it possible to contact the Webmaster, i.e. the person in charge of the site.

webmaster@domain_name

Moderation in our remarks and a civilized tone usually will be more likely to lead to the anticipated results than a message of insults. If the action taken produces no result, it would then be advisable to wonder whether the disputed contents cause a real damage, in which case the assistance of a legal adviser could be helpful in defending your rights.

On the other hand, any illegal content, criminal act or incentive to perform an illegal act on the Internet should be brought promptly to the attention of qualified civil authorities. You can contact the Frauds and Economic Crimes Division , your municipal police's morality squad, the Royal Mounted Police of Canada or the Québec Police Force.

Parental Control

What is legal, non prejudicial and acceptable between adults is not necessarily appropriate for younsters. Parents concerned not to expose their children to just any pictures or ideas would be well advised to exert a close supervision of their activities on the Internet. Fortunately, there is an increasing number of resources and tools to assist them in this task. We suggest the list below. It is necessary, however, to keep in mind that parental control software are auxiliary tools. They will never replace a parent's or a relative's attentive supervision over their children's activities on the Internet.

Cyber Patrol
CYBERsitter
Cyber Snoop
Net Nanny
Smartparent.com (multiple resources)
SurfWatch

Please note that Vidéotron do not support these softwares. They are listed above for information purposes only. You may contact your software provider for further details.