Better Internet for Kids

The Directive covers prosecuting offenders, protecting victims and preventing offences as well as blocking and taking down websites that hold and distribute child sexual abuse material. The Commission is working closely with EU Member States to make sure that the directive is implemented fully. The Commission is assessing if this text solves all the issues it was meant to solve or if there are new issues, for instance because of the big technological changes of the last ten years.

The Directive makes sure that all users, including children, can use electronic communications in a confidential way and that their devices are protected. The Commission proposed a new Regulation on ePrivacy (see below under legislative proposals) to modernise the current Directive and provide more legal certainty for all users.

(Source: EC Compendium of BIK-related legislation).

This law allows online communications services providers to continue voluntarily to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material online until 3 August 2024. It is a temporary derogation from Articles 5(1) and 6(1) of the e-Privacy Directive.

This regulation is in effect from August  2, 2021 until April  3, 2026.

(Source: EC Compendium of BIK-related legislation).

The GDPR says that children’s personal data need specific protection, as children may be less aware of their rights, and of what can happen if a company uses their personal data, especially for advertising or proposing content. Information about data processing should be clear and easy for a child to understand. Everyone has the right to be forgotten, under certain conditions. That means a user can ask a company to remove his/her personal data, especially when if (s)he agreed to this as a child.

This law means that non-food products sold in the EU must be safe. Countries can quickly alert each other about dangerous products.

In 2021, the European Commission proposed an update to strengthen existing rules. The proposal mentions the risks of products not made for children but that look like something appealing to children or meant for children – like sweets or toys. Safety would also apply to products based on new technologies like Artificial Intelligence that can affect people’s mental health and children’s healthy development.

The Directive regulates business practices that are unfair, misleading or aggressive. It aims to increase consumers’ trust and confidence while shopping offline and online. It explicitly says that children cannot be encouraged directly to buy things or persuade their parents or other adults to buy advertised products for them (‘pester power’). Such encouragement is an unfair commercial practice in all cases. In order to help businesses comply, the European Commission published guidelines in 2021. The guidelines have specific sections on social media marketing, and on influencers.

The purpose of trafficking in human beings is the exploitation of the person, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, begging, slavery or organ removal. The victim, or trafficked person, is forced or tricked to work against their will. Recruiting, transporting, transferring, housing or receiving people who are trafficked are all crimes. When children are trafficked, the punishment is more severe.

"The purpose of this law is to ensure the implementation, protection and protection of the child's rights and freedoms, to strengthen the responsibility and opportunities of parents and other representatives of the child in accordance with the law to take care of the child, to ensure the child's interests, to establish the foundations for the organization of assistance to the child and the family or other representatives of the child in accordance with the law, taking into account the Lithuanian The provisions of the Constitution of the Republic, the United Nations Convention on the Rights

This law establishes provisions to protect minors from the negative impacts and potential harms of accessing public information. It also specifies responsibilities and duties to producers, journalists, disseminators, and other professionals in the media field. It was amended in 2021 to harmonise with the Directive 2010/13/EU. 
(Source: BIK Policy Monitor 2024).

This law establishes the educational goals of the Republic of Lithuania, the principles of the educational system, the structure of the educational system, the foundations of educational activities, educational relations, and the state's obligations in the field of education. 
(Source: Article 1, Purpose of the Law).

Entities responsible for implementation: Ministry of Education, Science and Sports / Švietimo, mokslo ir sporto ministerija and Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania / Lietuvos Respublikos ryšių reguliavimo tarnyba.