European Commission - Press release
Digital Agenda: New strategy for safer
internet and better internet content for
children and teenagers
Brussels, 2 May 2012 –The Commission has set out a plan to give
children the digital skills and tools they need to benefit fully and
safely from the digital world. The internet was not designed with
children in mind, but today 75% of children use the internet, a third
of them on mobiles. The new strategy is to build up the market for
interactive, creative and educational content online, in a partnership
between the European Commission and Member States, mobile
phone operators, handset manufacturers and providers of social
networking services.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said: "I support
getting every kid connected. But kids need simple, transparent and
consistent internet tools, and the knowledge and skills to use them.
Our initiative brings every type of player together so that children
get more of the quality content, services and protection they need
to enjoy a positive experience online."
Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU's Justice Commissioner said:
"The Internet offers children and teenagers new opportunities to be
creative and to express themselves freely. As the internet was
originally designed for adults and not kids we need to make sure
that children are safe online. The new Commission Strategy will
help to protect children's rights, including protection against
violence. This is a sensible approach that will help adapt the
internet to children's needs."
European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, said:
''We are living in the digital age and the younger generations are
those most active online. These young people are particularly at
ease with the use of the internet but they are still vulnerable to
online threats. It is our duty as parents to keep our children safe –
and this includes on the web. We have to reinforce cooperation at
European and international levels to combat cybercrime, and
especially the most horrible acts such as sexual exploitation and the
dissemination of child sexual abuse material online".
Varying national approaches mean that children across the EU have
different levels of empowerment and protection online. This also
makes it difficult for businesses to market child-friendly services
and products EU-wide. To overcome these hurdles, the Commission
has outlined a range of measures, which will be implemented by
different means including industry self-regulation, which should lead
to flexible and fast solutions in this field. Cooperation in fora such
as the Coalition to make the Internet a better place for kids (see
IP/11/1485) will be vital to this process. Actions are grouped
around four main goals:
• To stimulate the production of creative and educational online
content for children and develop platforms which give access
to age-appropriate content
• To scale up awareness raising and teaching of online safety in all
EU schools to develop children's digital and media literacy and
self-responsibility online
• Creating a safe environment for children where parents and
children are given the tools necessary for ensuring their
protection online – such as easy-to-use mechanisms to report
harmful content and conduct online, transparent default ageappropriate privacy settings or user-friendly parental controls;
• Combating child sexual abuse material online by promoting
research into, and use of, innovative technical solutions by
police investigations.
Background
Keeping children safe online is a key commitment of the Digital
Agenda for Europe (general DAE information available at IP/10/581,
MEMO/10/199 and MEMO/10/200).
Although the Internet was not created for children, they are using it
at an increasingly younger age. 4 in 10 children report having
encountered risks online such as cyber-bullying, being exposed to
user-generated content promoting anorexia or self-harm or misuse
of their personal data. While by 2015 it is expected that 90% of
jobs across all sectors will require technology skills, only 25% of
young people across the EU say they have "high" levels of basic
Internet skills (such as using the Internet to make phone calls,
create a web page, or use peer-to-peer file sharing).
Paying attention to the demands of children opens up a wide range
of business opportunities. The global digital content market is
predicted to reach € 113 billion this year. The mobile apps market is
worth € 5 billion euros, and is expected to grow to €27 billion by
2015, mainly driven by games and the more than 5 billion mobileequipped devices worldwide. With the wide proliferation of tablets,
smart phones and laptops which children use heavily, the potential
market for interactive, creative and educational online content for
both young children and teenagers is substantial.
The measures outlined in the strategy build on ongoing EU actions
in this field. For example, the easy-to-use mechanisms for children,
parents and teachers to report harmful content and conduct online
will complement the 116 missing children hotlines (see IP/07/188)
and the European Cybercrime Centre's future network of national
cybercrime alert platforms(see IP/12/317).
A Coalition to make a better internet for children was set up in
December 2011, with a work plan developed for the year ahead
(IP/11/1485). The first review of the work of the Coalition will take
place this summer. In February 2011, the Commission presented an
EU agenda for reinforcing the rights of the child by putting the
principles of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights into
practice (IP/11/156). It includes a series of concrete actions where
the EU can provide added value to policies for children's well-being
and safety, including promoting child-friendly justice, better
informing children about their rights, and making the internet safer
for kids.