Cox’s Greater Louisiana operation hosted a Teen Summit on Internet Safety this week in Baton Rouge with more than 200 parents and teens from around the state. The students attended workshops to learn Internet safety tips and discussed reasons why teens take risks online by sharing personal information. Following the summit, the teen delegates met with lawmakers to advocate for Internet safety education.

Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson, Cox's Internet safety partner, participated in the Summit and shared that when she was 13, she and her friends provided personal info online to someone who ended up being an online predator. (Fortunately, the situation was defused without incident.) She also gave the audience tips on how to be safer on the Web. This week, it was erroneously reported that Miss America would not testify against online predators that she helped catch during a recent sting broadcast on “America’s Most Wanted” (FOX). During interviews with local media in Baton Rouge, she set the record straight that she would testify and had always planned to testify.

One of the most powerful aspects of the Summit was hearing many of the kids commit to making changes in their Internet activities, after learning more about the potential risks. The Summit is part of Cox's companywide Take Charge initiative that helps parents understand how to use parental controls for the TV and Internet and encourages teens to be safer online.