The European 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 nowadays 75% of children use the internet, a third of them on mobiles.

The new strategy is aimed at building 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.

Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, supports all children being connected, however today youths need consistent internet tools as well as the knowledge 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.”

Similarly, Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship states that although the internet was originally created for adults, children still need to be safeguarded so that they can utilise the various opportunities to be creative. Ms. Reding says that the new Commission Strategy was created to protect children’s rights including protection against violence. This approach will be adjusting internet tools to fit children’s needs. Parents feel it is their duty to keep their children safe since nowadays they are very comfortable using the internet for every small thing. European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, says that cooperation must begin at European and International levels. Unless this issue is seen to, children will remain vulnerable to cybercrime.

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 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 age-appropriate privacy settings or user-friendly parental controls; and

• Combating child sexual abuse material online by promoting research into, and use of, innovative technical solutions by police investigations.

The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) is welcoming the new strategy and adopting the work carried out by the European Commission, Member States and the industry. “The Authority refers to recent Eurostat statistics, mentioning how Maltese youths, like other European counterparts, are becoming immersed in the digital world and are often much more conversant and intensive users than their parents and teachers. The Authority praised the strategy for balancing between promoting the Internet as a positive opportunity for all children, and in identifying the duties of all stakeholders to ensure an online environment that is safe and conducive to learning and healthy social and personal development,” stated a Malta Communications Authority representative.