Parents

Talk with children about computer use

Are you aware of how your children are using the computer to access music, film and TV content? Talk to them so that they understand why it’s important to use legal sites online.

Using legal sites helps to ensure that everyone who works to make a song, film or TV programme is paid fairly for their work. It’s also worth discussing with them what the consequences would be for the whole family if they were caught breaking the law.

Explore the web’s legal music, film and TV services

There are more than 13 million tracks licensed to legal music services. A full list of services worldwide is available at www.pro-music.org and www.whymusicmatters.org lists the services available in the UK. You may want to use a service such as iTunes or Amazon MP3, or one like Spotify which can supply music to the whole household.

For film and TV, there are many services now available to stream or download films or TV programmes online. These provide access to thousands of titles, and the amount of programming available is growing all the time.

To search for specific film titles online visit www.findanyfilm.com. You can also find a list of links to all legal film and TV sites at www.industrytrust.co.uk.

Check your computer and wireless connection

Are you aware of what is on the family computer? Make sure it is protected against viruses and spyware. Ensure your wireless connection is secure with a password and encryption (such as WPA). Talk to your family about what they do online, and decide what protections are best placed to meet the needs of the users in your house.