Child Safety on the Internet is Key in the Digital Agenda

On Safer Internet Day, February 5, the European Commission presented the results of the joint efforts of companies in the media, technology, and telecommunications sectors since December 2011, when they committed to making the internet a safer and better place for children.

As many as 29 of the largest companies involved in this self-regulation exercise announced that they would collectively measure child protection on the internet. As a result of their commitment, all devices (smartphones, tablets, computers, and gaming consoles) could be equipped with parental control tools and screens with simple tools for users to report harmful content or contact. Efforts are also being made to raise parents’ awareness of these tools and their use. In addition, best practices have been established, namely age-appropriate privacy settings and effective removal of harmful content. There is also a commitment to broader application of content classification, which is expected to begin this year.

Connecting with Respect The average age for first internet access in Europe is seven years. The essence of Safer Internet Day is internet rights and responsibilities, encouraging people of all ages to ‘connect with respect’. For this purpose, events will be held across Europe, and starting next year, Safer Internet Day will be celebrated on the same day by the European Union and America. The announced commitments include many measures: companies will facilitate the reporting of harmful content, the availability and use of parental control tools will be expanded, a universal content classification system will be established, best practices in age-appropriate privacy settings will be defined and shared, and ways to proactively filter harmful content and respond to it more quickly will be improved.

Corporate Responsibility The Commission will support this effort this year by establishing a corporate responsibility platform that will monitor the coalition’s results and connect it with other elements of self-regulation, support the development of buttons on internet browsers for reporting harmful content, fund a database on children’s privacy, support innovations and research in the field of content classification, promote age recognition services, and invest in research on tools and technologies for detecting harmful content.
Child safety on the internet is a key element of the Digital Agenda for Europe and an important part of the Commission’s efforts to ensure trust and safety online. In the coming days, it will therefore present the Cybersecurity Strategy and the Proposal for a Law on Network and Information Security to ensure a digital environment while promoting the protection of fundamental rights and key EU values.