Here, we take an in-depth look at the latest monitoring information for Lithuania.
BIK policies
Policy design asks whether evidence and research support BIK-related policies and whether systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating those policies.
Policy frameworks
Policy frameworks describe the overarching approach for a better internet, and establish the underlying goals, principles and guidelines that shape individual policies within this area.
In Lithuania:
- This topic is an important and emerging policy priority, with children’s online protection, digital empowerment, and digital participation partially covered in national/regional laws, regulations and policies.
- Separate, dedicated policies address children and the digital environment (protection, empowerment, and participation).
- While the BIK/BIK+ strategy has not influenced national policies on children and the environment, successful examples from other countries have been implemented.
- Children’s rights in the digital environment are not addressed in national policies.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Coverage of BIK+ issues in national policies | X | |||
Integration of policy provision | X | |||
Influence on the BIK+ strategy | X | |||
Recognition of children's rights | X |
Policy design
Policy design asks whether evidence and research support BIK-related policies and whether systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating those policies.
- Surveys of children’s digital activities are undertaken but only irregularly (e.g., the EU Kids Online survey data from 2020 is the only available source on a national level).
- There is no system in place at government level to gather information on children and the digital environment.
- There is little or no funding available for research on children and the digital environment.
- There is no systematic monitoring or evaluation of policies on children and the digital environment.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Regular data collection | X | |||
Other information supports | X | |||
National research fund | X | |||
Monitoring and evaluation | X |
Policy governance
Policy governance examines how policies are coordinated at the governmental level, whether other implementation bodies are involved in their delivery, and whether structured mechanisms are available to guide their implementation.
- Policy development sits across a range of ministries, no lead is specifically assigned responsibility for developing government policies, guidelines and programmes relating to children and the digital environment.
- There is no coordination mechanism in place. Policies, guidelines and programmes relating to children and the digital environment tend to be implemented independently of one another.
- Government policy has yet to be developed into an implementable action plan at this point.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lead ministry for policy development | X | |||
National coordination body | X | |||
National action plan or strategy | X |
Stakeholder involvement
Stakeholder involvement enquires how different stakeholders can participate in policy development. Children’s involvement in policy-making is one such key issue. Additionally, international knowledge exchange about children's digital participation is also relevant to this topic.
- Various ad hoc multistakeholder groups exist across different branches of government, in which stakeholders may contribute to policy deliberation and development.
- Members of the public are consulted on occasion in the course of the development of new policies. However, this is not always the case.
- Children’s interests are considered indirectly (e.g., through analysis of existing surveys and data collections)
- There are occasional opportunities for policymakers to participate in international knowledge exchange on digital policies for children.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Stakeholder forum | X | |||
Public consultation | X | |||
Involvement of young people | X | |||
International knowledge exchange |
| X |
|
|
BIK+ actions
Pillar 1 – safe digital experiences
Safe digital experiences refer to actions taken to protect children from harmful and illegal online content, conduct, contact, and risks as young consumers and to improve their well-being online through a safe, age-appropriate digital environment created in a way that respects children’s best interests.
Responses to EU laws
- Amendment to the Law on Information Society Services has been provided to the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) for approval.
- Under this Law the following competent authorities will be designated: Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) - Digital Services Coordinator; Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics – responsible for the articles of the Digital Services Act (DSA) associated with minors’ protection; State Data Protection Inspectorate – responsible for the articles of DSA, related to the protection of personal data; State Consumer Rights Protection Authority - responsible for the articles of DSA, associated with the protection of consumer rights.
Addressing harmful online content
- Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information addresses the area of harmful online content. Art 4 defines harmful online content as follows: “Information that has a negative impact on minors is considered public information that may be harmful to the mental or physical health, physical, mental, spiritual or moral development of minors”.
- Warning pages must be installed before websites that distribute content harmful to children. Distribution of pornographic content in Lithuania is illegal, and if detected, it will be removed from Lithuanian servers.
- There are several Lithuanian institutions with the power to order the removal or disabling of access to online content which is potentially harmful to children: the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT), the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics, and the Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department.
- Children may make a complaint to the internet hotline ”Švarus internetas” established in RRT. RRT has formal written agreements with the Police Department and Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics concerning the internet hotline operation, where the hotline's operational procedures are thoroughly described.
- In Lithuania, the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT) publishes information about parental control tools and parents’ involvement in their children’s safety on the internet. RRT is responsible for testing and approbating filtering software to be installed in public places where minors can be present, e.g., libraries, computer classes in schools, internet cafes, etc.
Addressing harmful online conduct
- The protection of children and young people from intimate image abuse and cyberbullying are covered under the Law on Education, Article 23 which addresses the protection of children from all forms of violence in educational institutions.
Age verification and digital identity systems
- Young people may open a bank account in one of the Lithuanian banks, use their national ID card to verify their identity, or even sign digitally. However, these systems are not used for every website or platform that should monitor and verify the age of their customers/visitors.
In place | In development | Not in place | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
DSA legislation enacted | X | |||
Codes of practice of digital services | X | |||
Consumer code of practice | X | |||
Definition of harmful content | X | |||
Children’s complaints mechanism | X | |||
Bodies can order content removal | X | |||
Intimate image abuse laws | X | |||
Cyberbullying laws | X | |||
Age verification for adult content | X | |||
Digital identity systems | X |
Pillar 2 – digital empowerment
Digital empowerment incorporates actions so that all children, including those in vulnerable situations, acquire the necessary skills and competences to make sound choices and express themselves in the online environment safely and responsibly.
Supports in formal education
- Teaching online safety has been incorporated into the national curriculum within the newly developed “Life Experience” (gyvenimo įgūdžių) program at school. Online safety is only one of many topics addressed in this program. Cyber safety topics, such as password use, are also a part of the informatics subject school programme.
- As observed by the SIC, for instance, through the informal information exchanges during Safer Internet Day, schools create their own policies on expected behaviour regarding smartphone use or internet etiquette. The Digital Ethics Centre has also developed guidelines for schools on digital usage.
Informal education
- The Lithuanian SIC Young Ambassadors programme (Youth Council) are encouraged to participate in peer-to-peer training with their classmates or friends in extra-curricular activities.
- It has become a tradition for the "Window to the Future" (Langas į ateitį”) alliance, together with the Safer Internet Centre partners, to visit children's camps every summer and talk to the campers about the internet's opportunities and dangers. They discuss with them where they can turn to when they find themselves in dangerous or uncomfortable situations or when their rights are violated.
- “Langas į ateitį” also organises 10 Safer Internet lessons at schools annually. During these discussions with younger pupils, we raise awareness of children’s rights in relation to the digital environment.
- The Lithuanian Helpline, Vaikau linija, also promotes better awareness of children’s rights through its answers to queries and by actively visiting schools. Vaikau linija , assisting in Europe with the single helpline number for children 116111, cooperates with the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service specialists. This makes it possible to ensure the availability of emotional support for children and the receipt of social and legal consultations and services.
- "Vaikai linija" is a long-standing member of the Lithuanian Emotional Support Services Association (LEPTA), as well as a member of the international organisation "Child Helpline International" (CHI), which unites children's helplines around the world.
Empowering through digital skills
- Programmes such as the Žinių ekonomikos forumas (Knowledge economy forum) trainings for schools related to media literacy are supported in collaboration with the British Council.
- The Knowledge Economy Forum (KEF) is a professional NGO in Vilnius, Lithuania, with more than 50 members representing research, innovation, and education. It brings together politicians, representatives from universities, other NGOs, and high-tech industry members to act as a think tank/debate platform for the country’s societal and economic progress in knowledge society, innovation, and education.
In place | In development | Not in place | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Teaching online safety | X | |||
Online safety policies in schools | X | |||
Adequate teacher training | X | |||
Informal education about online safety | X | |||
Peer-to-peer training in online safety | X | |||
Support for digital literacy skills | X | |||
Children’s media literacy | X | |||
Challenge hate speech/digital civil courage | X |
Pillar 3 – active participation, respecting children’s rights
Active participation, respecting children’s rights, refers to actions which give children and young people a say in the digital environment, with more child-led activities to foster innovative and creative safe digital experiences.
Active participation
- There is a general lack of a culture of directly consulting young people regarding policy-making in Lithuania. The Lithuanian SIC is trying to shift this perspective by assembling a very active Youth Council (Lithuanian SIC Young Ambassadors programme). However, the Lithuanian SIC does not have a specific mandate for developing or implementing policies in Lithuania.
- A key priority for the Lithuanian SIC is promoting active participation, youth civic engagement, and advocacy in the digital environment. Other institutions, such as the Digital Ethics Centre or the Lithuanian Police, indirectly contribute to this.
Inclusivity
- The Lithuanian Agency of Non-Formal Education communicates with vulnerable groups of children by attending events in smaller towns and villages when there is an opportunity (for example, the Subačius culture house event about safer internet). It also organises events such as Kultūrų ratas (Wheel of Cultures) for various minorities living in Lithuania, where a part of the event was dedicated to understanding online safety and the topic of online bullying.
Digital creativity
- Regional activities include camps, one of which is dedicated to being safe online, and various events during Safer Internet Week, during which the regional libraries participate in promoting positive digital content and services for children.
- The Lithuanian SIC is actively organising events as well as participating in other institution events while promoting children's active participation and digital creativity.
- The national STEAM Centres (Science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths) are actively involved in offering children the opportunity to learn and use their creative skills online and with various equipment (digital and analogue) to create digital and tangible products and empower their creativity.
- The campaign All Digital Weeks is organised annually in Lithuania under the coordination of the association "Window to the Future" (Langas į ateitį”). In 2023 the three main themes of the campaign were: Digital Skills for “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” – from basic to advanced; Digital media literacy; Cybersecurity and safer internet. During the three thematic weeks of the campaign, Lithuanian citizens, including children, were invited to participate in webinars presenting e-services and the opportunities offered by the internet, participate in educational events in public libraries and educational institutions, and test and improve their knowledge in quizzes. The campaign activities reached over 30,000 Lithuanian citizens.
In place | In development | Not in place | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Activities to promote active participation | X | |||
Laws that mandate youth participation | X | |||
Awareness raising on children’s rights | X | |||
Inclusiveness regarding active participation | X | |||
Child-friendly versions of policy documents | X | |||
Positive digital content | X | |||
Activities encouraging digital creativity | X |
BIK+ index 2024: Lithuania
The BIK+ index has been developed to provide an aggregated at-a-glance overview of the levels of implementation across the two dimensions, BIK policies and BIK+ actions, in Lithuania compared to the EU27+2 average. Values are shown in per cent.
Please note, the data used in this page and the corresponding country profile was collected in February 2024.
Here, we take an in-depth look at the latest monitoring information for Lithuania.
BIK policies
Policy design asks whether evidence and research support BIK-related policies and whether systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating those policies.
Policy frameworks
Policy frameworks describe the overarching approach for a better internet, and establish the underlying goals, principles and guidelines that shape individual policies within this area.
In Lithuania:
- This topic is an important and emerging policy priority, with children’s online protection, digital empowerment, and digital participation partially covered in national/regional laws, regulations and policies.
- Separate, dedicated policies address children and the digital environment (protection, empowerment, and participation).
- While the BIK/BIK+ strategy has not influenced national policies on children and the environment, successful examples from other countries have been implemented.
- Children’s rights in the digital environment are not addressed in national policies.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Coverage of BIK+ issues in national policies | X | |||
Integration of policy provision | X | |||
Influence on the BIK+ strategy | X | |||
Recognition of children's rights | X |
Policy design
Policy design asks whether evidence and research support BIK-related policies and whether systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating those policies.
- Surveys of children’s digital activities are undertaken but only irregularly (e.g., the EU Kids Online survey data from 2020 is the only available source on a national level).
- There is no system in place at government level to gather information on children and the digital environment.
- There is little or no funding available for research on children and the digital environment.
- There is no systematic monitoring or evaluation of policies on children and the digital environment.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Regular data collection | X | |||
Other information supports | X | |||
National research fund | X | |||
Monitoring and evaluation | X |
Policy governance
Policy governance examines how policies are coordinated at the governmental level, whether other implementation bodies are involved in their delivery, and whether structured mechanisms are available to guide their implementation.
- Policy development sits across a range of ministries, no lead is specifically assigned responsibility for developing government policies, guidelines and programmes relating to children and the digital environment.
- There is no coordination mechanism in place. Policies, guidelines and programmes relating to children and the digital environment tend to be implemented independently of one another.
- Government policy has yet to be developed into an implementable action plan at this point.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lead ministry for policy development | X | |||
National coordination body | X | |||
National action plan or strategy | X |
Stakeholder involvement
Stakeholder involvement enquires how different stakeholders can participate in policy development. Children’s involvement in policy-making is one such key issue. Additionally, international knowledge exchange about children's digital participation is also relevant to this topic.
- Various ad hoc multistakeholder groups exist across different branches of government, in which stakeholders may contribute to policy deliberation and development.
- Members of the public are consulted on occasion in the course of the development of new policies. However, this is not always the case.
- Children’s interests are considered indirectly (e.g., through analysis of existing surveys and data collections)
- There are occasional opportunities for policymakers to participate in international knowledge exchange on digital policies for children.
High | Medium | Low | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Stakeholder forum | X | |||
Public consultation | X | |||
Involvement of young people | X | |||
International knowledge exchange |
| X |
|
|
BIK+ actions
Pillar 1 – safe digital experiences
Safe digital experiences refer to actions taken to protect children from harmful and illegal online content, conduct, contact, and risks as young consumers and to improve their well-being online through a safe, age-appropriate digital environment created in a way that respects children’s best interests.
Responses to EU laws
- Amendment to the Law on Information Society Services has been provided to the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) for approval.
- Under this Law the following competent authorities will be designated: Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) - Digital Services Coordinator; Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics – responsible for the articles of the Digital Services Act (DSA) associated with minors’ protection; State Data Protection Inspectorate – responsible for the articles of DSA, related to the protection of personal data; State Consumer Rights Protection Authority - responsible for the articles of DSA, associated with the protection of consumer rights.
Addressing harmful online content
- Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information addresses the area of harmful online content. Art 4 defines harmful online content as follows: “Information that has a negative impact on minors is considered public information that may be harmful to the mental or physical health, physical, mental, spiritual or moral development of minors”.
- Warning pages must be installed before websites that distribute content harmful to children. Distribution of pornographic content in Lithuania is illegal, and if detected, it will be removed from Lithuanian servers.
- There are several Lithuanian institutions with the power to order the removal or disabling of access to online content which is potentially harmful to children: the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT), the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics, and the Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department.
- Children may make a complaint to the internet hotline ”Švarus internetas” established in RRT. RRT has formal written agreements with the Police Department and Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics concerning the internet hotline operation, where the hotline's operational procedures are thoroughly described.
- In Lithuania, the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT) publishes information about parental control tools and parents’ involvement in their children’s safety on the internet. RRT is responsible for testing and approbating filtering software to be installed in public places where minors can be present, e.g., libraries, computer classes in schools, internet cafes, etc.
Addressing harmful online conduct
- The protection of children and young people from intimate image abuse and cyberbullying are covered under the Law on Education, Article 23 which addresses the protection of children from all forms of violence in educational institutions.
Age verification and digital identity systems
- Young people may open a bank account in one of the Lithuanian banks, use their national ID card to verify their identity, or even sign digitally. However, these systems are not used for every website or platform that should monitor and verify the age of their customers/visitors.
In place | In development | Not in place | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
DSA legislation enacted | X | |||
Codes of practice of digital services | X | |||
Consumer code of practice | X | |||
Definition of harmful content | X | |||
Children’s complaints mechanism | X | |||
Bodies can order content removal | X | |||
Intimate image abuse laws | X | |||
Cyberbullying laws | X | |||
Age verification for adult content | X | |||
Digital identity systems | X |
Pillar 2 – digital empowerment
Digital empowerment incorporates actions so that all children, including those in vulnerable situations, acquire the necessary skills and competences to make sound choices and express themselves in the online environment safely and responsibly.
Supports in formal education
- Teaching online safety has been incorporated into the national curriculum within the newly developed “Life Experience” (gyvenimo įgūdžių) program at school. Online safety is only one of many topics addressed in this program. Cyber safety topics, such as password use, are also a part of the informatics subject school programme.
- As observed by the SIC, for instance, through the informal information exchanges during Safer Internet Day, schools create their own policies on expected behaviour regarding smartphone use or internet etiquette. The Digital Ethics Centre has also developed guidelines for schools on digital usage.
Informal education
- The Lithuanian SIC Young Ambassadors programme (Youth Council) are encouraged to participate in peer-to-peer training with their classmates or friends in extra-curricular activities.
- It has become a tradition for the "Window to the Future" (Langas į ateitį”) alliance, together with the Safer Internet Centre partners, to visit children's camps every summer and talk to the campers about the internet's opportunities and dangers. They discuss with them where they can turn to when they find themselves in dangerous or uncomfortable situations or when their rights are violated.
- “Langas į ateitį” also organises 10 Safer Internet lessons at schools annually. During these discussions with younger pupils, we raise awareness of children’s rights in relation to the digital environment.
- The Lithuanian Helpline, Vaikau linija, also promotes better awareness of children’s rights through its answers to queries and by actively visiting schools. Vaikau linija , assisting in Europe with the single helpline number for children 116111, cooperates with the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service specialists. This makes it possible to ensure the availability of emotional support for children and the receipt of social and legal consultations and services.
- "Vaikai linija" is a long-standing member of the Lithuanian Emotional Support Services Association (LEPTA), as well as a member of the international organisation "Child Helpline International" (CHI), which unites children's helplines around the world.
Empowering through digital skills
- Programmes such as the Žinių ekonomikos forumas (Knowledge economy forum) trainings for schools related to media literacy are supported in collaboration with the British Council.
- The Knowledge Economy Forum (KEF) is a professional NGO in Vilnius, Lithuania, with more than 50 members representing research, innovation, and education. It brings together politicians, representatives from universities, other NGOs, and high-tech industry members to act as a think tank/debate platform for the country’s societal and economic progress in knowledge society, innovation, and education.
In place | In development | Not in place | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Teaching online safety | X | |||
Online safety policies in schools | X | |||
Adequate teacher training | X | |||
Informal education about online safety | X | |||
Peer-to-peer training in online safety | X | |||
Support for digital literacy skills | X | |||
Children’s media literacy | X | |||
Challenge hate speech/digital civil courage | X |
Pillar 3 – active participation, respecting children’s rights
Active participation, respecting children’s rights, refers to actions which give children and young people a say in the digital environment, with more child-led activities to foster innovative and creative safe digital experiences.
Active participation
- There is a general lack of a culture of directly consulting young people regarding policy-making in Lithuania. The Lithuanian SIC is trying to shift this perspective by assembling a very active Youth Council (Lithuanian SIC Young Ambassadors programme). However, the Lithuanian SIC does not have a specific mandate for developing or implementing policies in Lithuania.
- A key priority for the Lithuanian SIC is promoting active participation, youth civic engagement, and advocacy in the digital environment. Other institutions, such as the Digital Ethics Centre or the Lithuanian Police, indirectly contribute to this.
Inclusivity
- The Lithuanian Agency of Non-Formal Education communicates with vulnerable groups of children by attending events in smaller towns and villages when there is an opportunity (for example, the Subačius culture house event about safer internet). It also organises events such as Kultūrų ratas (Wheel of Cultures) for various minorities living in Lithuania, where a part of the event was dedicated to understanding online safety and the topic of online bullying.
Digital creativity
- Regional activities include camps, one of which is dedicated to being safe online, and various events during Safer Internet Week, during which the regional libraries participate in promoting positive digital content and services for children.
- The Lithuanian SIC is actively organising events as well as participating in other institution events while promoting children's active participation and digital creativity.
- The national STEAM Centres (Science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths) are actively involved in offering children the opportunity to learn and use their creative skills online and with various equipment (digital and analogue) to create digital and tangible products and empower their creativity.
- The campaign All Digital Weeks is organised annually in Lithuania under the coordination of the association "Window to the Future" (Langas į ateitį”). In 2023 the three main themes of the campaign were: Digital Skills for “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” – from basic to advanced; Digital media literacy; Cybersecurity and safer internet. During the three thematic weeks of the campaign, Lithuanian citizens, including children, were invited to participate in webinars presenting e-services and the opportunities offered by the internet, participate in educational events in public libraries and educational institutions, and test and improve their knowledge in quizzes. The campaign activities reached over 30,000 Lithuanian citizens.
In place | In development | Not in place | Other | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Activities to promote active participation | X | |||
Laws that mandate youth participation | X | |||
Awareness raising on children’s rights | X | |||
Inclusiveness regarding active participation | X | |||
Child-friendly versions of policy documents | X | |||
Positive digital content | X | |||
Activities encouraging digital creativity | X |
BIK+ index 2024: Lithuania
The BIK+ index has been developed to provide an aggregated at-a-glance overview of the levels of implementation across the two dimensions, BIK policies and BIK+ actions, in Lithuania compared to the EU27+2 average. Values are shown in per cent.
Please note, the data used in this page and the corresponding country profile was collected in February 2024.