Project: Organizational development grant from the Think Tank Fund29Aug2016
Internet is not the Children's Toy: Comment on children's safety online
Share Foundation published a comment concerning children's safety online by the CENTRE's associate, Jelena Sapic. The comment entittled "Internet is not the Children's Toy" provided insights in the most recent developments in this field and underlined the significance of comprehensive, raising-awarness national campaign in order to successfully address the problem in question.
An online predator has been arrested thanks to the cooperation of a mother and the police in Belgrade this summer. Namely, her daughter recieved a disturbing message and informed the mother who instantly realized what was going on. The mother kept chatting with the predator and arranged a meeting which led to his arrest. He is accused of using Facebook for sexual abuse of children.
On June 30, the first legal regulation on children's safety online was adopted in Serbia. According to the Regulation, the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications is in charge of preventive measures. It does so by providing relevant and accurate information and education. Children, parents and teachers will be able to acquire information about benefits and risks of using the Internet, as well as methods for its safe use. Additionally, MTT will recieve reports concerning harmful, inappropriate and illegal content and behavior on the Internet which violate children's rights. It will be possible to deliver such reports either by telephone or via the electronic form on the website. The Regulation prescribes steps how the Ministry , social and health services should react in cases of unsafe children's exposure online.
Short-term and uncoordinated actions of institutions and private companies have striven to raise awarness regarding online risks and necessity of safe usage of the Internet. Shortcomings of this approach are numerous projects with similar activities and consequent doubling of budgets. CENTRE's policy brief published in March this year recommended creating long-term raising awarness campaign at the national level. Successful campaigns are characterized by refrain from broadcasting terrifying message, while simultaneously emphasize the opportunities and risks of using the Internet. Likewise, they promote active participation of all interested parties in reducing risks in cyberspace. In this manner greater efficiency, better co-ordination and financial management are achievable. Furthermore, the cooperation between the two sectors can be a first step in creating a public-private partnership, which is often seen as the best model for improving the information security. Given that information security is not the exclusive responsibility of the state, public-private partnerships provide an opportunity to share information and build trust between the state and private companies. In the case of Serbia, a public-private partnership could be achieved through the work of the National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), which stands out as the central authority for the necessary coordination between stakeholders and creating a unified database. The policy brief is avaliable in Serbian under the link.