Better Internet for Kids

Here, we take an in-depth look at the latest monitoring information for Slovakia.

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 Slovakia:

• This topic is an important and emerging policy priority.
• There is one main overarching policy framework that addresses the topic of children and the digital environment (protection, empowerment, and participation).
• The BIK / BIK+ strategy is not explicitly referred to in national policies but has informed policy development on children and the digital environment.
• Children's rights in the digital environment are not explicitly recognised in national policy documents but receive implicit support in policies dealing with children's digital activity.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on key national policy frameworks in Slovakia.

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.
• There is currently no system in place at the 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.
• No specific monitoring system is in place for the area of children and the digital environment.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on recent national research studies in Slovakia.

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.

• The lead ministry, public agency or regulatory authority is an informal arrangement depending on the requirements at a particular point in time.
• A clearly defined coordination function is in place, involving all relevant stakeholders and encompasses the cross-cutting policy issues relating to children and the digital environment.
• There is a defined national action plan on children and the digital environment with accountabilities such as defined timelines, assigned responsibilities or key performance indicators (KPIs).

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on key policy governance mechanisms in Slovakia.

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.

• There is a designated multi-stakeholder forum in place which facilitates the involvement of all relevant stakeholder groups.
• Slovakia has an inter-ministerial working group on the National Strategy for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment, which is led by the NCC.
• 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, data collections).
• Policymakers actively participate in various EU-level and other international inter-governmental groups related to digital policies for children.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on crucial stakeholder involvement mechanisms in Slovakia.

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

• The Act on Media Services is currently in the legislative process. According to the draft law, the Council for Media Services is to become the coordinator for digital services (DSC).
• The Act transposes the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. It introduces an obligation of audiovisual media services providers to take appropriate measures to protect minors from content that may impair their physical, mental or moral development.

Addressing harmful online content

• A definition of harmful online content is not included in laws, regulations or policies at the country level.
• The OCHRÁŇMA.sk hotline serves to report potentially illegal or obviously inappropriate content and is intended for anyone who has encountered it on the internet.

Addressing harmful online conduct

• Non-consensual sharing of intimate images is covered under § 368 (Production of child pornography) and § 369 (Distribution of child pornography) of the Criminal Code (though it is irrelevant whether the sharing of intimate photos took place without consent or out of revenge).
• National laws in place to protect children and young people from cyberbullying include the application of § 360b (Dangerous electronic harassment) of the Criminal Code.
• In Slovakia, an initiative to establish a Safe Internet Centre has recently been in the works.

Age verification and digital identity systems

• According to the Act on Media Services, measures to protect minors from content which may impair their physical, mental or moral development may include effective parental controls or age verification mechanisms.
• Currently, digital identification systems are also available for minors in Slovakia. Authentication for minors can be carried out by means of an ID card with an electronic chip (eID) and a personal security code (BOK). The electronic chip on the ID card contains the data stored on the ID card itself.

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 fully incorporated into the national/regional school curriculum.
• The new National Curriculum for Primary Education addresses digital literacy as part of the key cross-cutting literacies One of the aims of the Man and Society learning standard is to be able to distinguish between trustworthy sources of information and to behave safely in an online environment.
• The educational standard of informatics also has as one of its main goals to be able to use digital technologies - to meaningfully select and use appropriate tools to achieve goals and to work correctly and safely in the digital environment. A new curriculum is being prepared for secondary schools at this time.
• Paragraph 153 of Act No.245/2008 regulates the issuance of a school code of conduct, which sets and regulates the rules in the school, where the school may also regulate the use of mobile phones. The Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic has currently set up an expert working group composed of experts not only from the school environment but also from psychologists and the third sector, who will set new rules regarding the use of mobile phones in primary schools. New rules on the use of mobile phones are expected at the beginning of April 2024, updating the ordinance on the use of mobile phones.
• The National Coordination Centre for addressing violence against children implements the educational programme Children's Safety on the Internet aimed at the professional public, teachers, helping professions, psychologists, social workers etc.

Informal education

• In 2024, the National Institute of Education and Youth plans to develop prevention programmes for pedagogical and vocational staff in schools to recognise emotions, to build self-values and sensitivity to important events in the classroom, school and society, and to manage pupil conflicts and develop skills to resolve them.
• Digital skills are also addressed in the Lifelong Learning and Counselling Strategy 2021-2030 and the National Youth Strategy 2021-2028.
• The Ministry of Education plans to issue guidelines, a handbook and a video for teachers and educators on combating misinformation and promoting digital literacy through education and training.

Empowering through digital skills

• A successful example of peer-to-peer education is the digiPEERS programme. digiPEERS is an annual nationwide volunteer development programme for young people aged 14 to 19 who raise awareness and educate their peers about digital citizenship, i.e., how to behave responsibly in the online world, learning about the opportunities, benefits, rules, and risks.
• The digiPEERS programme is led and administered by the civil association Digital Intelligence, which was established in 2017 in response to the need to advocate for human rights online and expand the positive use of digital technologies.
• The Council for Media Services has initiated a Media Literacy+ Platform to provide space for the exchange of best practices in media literacy. The platform's focus is on the general public, and its members' activities are aimed at various socio-economic groups, including young people.

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

• Members of the Media Literacy+ Platform, such as digiQ, Zmudri, Rada mládeže Slovenska and Slovak debate association organise activities at the regional and local level on this topic. 
• Young people are mandated to participate in public debate and decision-making processes, mostly via school and local/regional parliaments. Those were established by law No. 488/2021. According to this legislation, at the request of students, a school may establish a school parliament that advises the director on matters related to students. The same applies to local and regional administrations, which can engage students gathered in parliaments to advise them on youth-related matters.
• There is no government system in place to publish child-friendly versions of policy documents or policy initiatives relevant to BIK+ topics.

Digital creativity

• Activities to encourage children’s digital creativity and to promote creative uses of digital technologies include the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information, which has a FABLAB model consisting of a space that is open to the general public to foster creativity, inventiveness, new technological and innovative practices. Children have the opportunity to participate in a digital skills club, DTDT2 camps, digital technology camps and other activities. 

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for some best practice examples from Slovakia.

BIK+ index 2024: Slovakia

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 Slovakia 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.