In today’s Internet age, online safety is an important issue. With the continuous evolution of technology, society is evolving itself in an unprecedented way, towards the point where everyone and everything is connected all the time. Although there is an increasing trend in the number of people online, there seems to be a gap between children and parents in terms of Internet use and knowledge. As children have specific needs and vulnerabilities with regard to online safety, they should be empowered. Children are spending ever-greater amounts of time working on and playing with computers. Children aged 6 to 11 years have access to the Internet and online technologies with an increasing rate. Awareness is important for parents in protecting their children against inappropriate content and possible damages on cyberspace. Thus, safer use of Internet is vital for families, educators, and all individuals in society.
It is known that, in line with the guidelines of the UN Resolution 44-25 and the Tunis Commitment emphasizing the role of ICTs in the protection of children, many global and national initiatives have been set up in order to promote and protect child online safety and various best practices on the subject have emerged. Awareness rising is an important aspect of these initiatives.
As child online safety has many aspects, a multistakeholder approach, including close cooperation between governmental institutions, network operators, Internet service providers, ICT industry and non-governmental organizations are of significant importance. This session will discuss the role of various stakeholders in child online protection, as well as best practice solutions for making Internet a safer place for children and current challenges faced when implementing such solutions.
Discussions on concrete examples, with an emphasis on the pros and cons for each of them, will be held.