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, with children’s online protection, digital empowerment, and digital participation partially covered in national/regional laws, regulations and policies.
• There is one main overarching policy framework that addresses the topic of children and the digital environment (protection, empowerment, and participation).
• The BIK+ strategy is an important influence on policy development on children and the digital environment (i.e., it informs and guides national policies even if they do not directly refer to BIK+).
• Children’s rights in the digital environment are implied rather than explicitly recognised in policies regarding children and the digital environment.

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

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report.

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.

• There is a regular (e.g., annual or bi-annual) nationally representative survey specifically focused on children’s digital activity which informs national policies on this topic.
• Regular (e.g., annual or bi-annual) surveys include measures of children’s experiences of risks, harms and digital well-being.
• Information is regularly gathered to inform policies on children and the digital environment. However, this relies primarily on third-party sources, and there are limited opportunities to commission new data on children's digital activity.
• Regarding research funding, there are occasional special initiatives to gather evidence about children and the digital environment.
• Policies undergo systematic and regular monitoring and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of actions in different contexts (e.g., to take account of new technologies or emergent risks).

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

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report.

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.

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report.

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.
• Members of the public are consulted only when new policies are being developed.
• Children are actively involved in the design of policies related to their participation in the digital environment. There are specially designed structures in place for this purpose.

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

Read the full 2025 edition of the Policy monitor report.

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. 

Implementing 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.
• The Slovak DSC – Council for Media Services coordinated the response to the European Commission’s call for evidence for guidelines for the protection of minors with the Trust and Safety Network. This working group, established by the Council for Media Services, operates on a national level and gathers important institutions from government, NGOs, academia and research institutes on the topic of digital trust and safety, including the protection of minors.

Harmful online content

• A definition of harmful online content is not included in laws, regulations or policies at the country level.
• According to the Act on Media Services, the Council for Media Services has the competence to cooperate with online content sharing platforms in the effective, proportionate, and non-discriminatory application of their service provision rules. Under this authority, the Council for Media Services has established bilateral contact lines with representatives of the companies operating these platforms.
• 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.

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.
• The Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic issued Directive No. 36 /2018 on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying Among Children and Students in Schools and Educational Institutions.

Age verification 

• 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.

Commercial content

• The Advertising Council and its Code of Ethics for Advertising Practice (Etický kódex reklamnej praxe) aim to codify the ethical principles of advertising practice in Slovakia and thereby contribute to ensuring that advertising in the Slovak Republic serves advertisers and consumers as effectively as possible and meets the ethical standards for advertising. The Advertising Council is listed as a self-regulatory body in the register of the Council for Media Services as of September 21, 2023.
• Additionally, the self-regulation of influencer-based marketing and online commercial content on digital platforms is guided by the Code of Influencer Marketing (Kódex influencer marketingu), introduced in 2022. 

Mental health and well-being

• The Government of the Slovak Republic has approved, by Resolution No. 482/2024 dated August 21, 2024, the National Mental Health Program and the Action Plan of the National Mental Health Program for the years 2024-
  2030. This strategic program focuses on developing the mental health care system in Slovakia. The aim is to ensure humane, modern, and accessible care for all residents of the Slovak Republic, with one of the emphases of the National Mental Health Program being on prevention and early intervention in the field of mental health care for children and youth, including in the online space. By 2030, it plans to create and regulate conditions, mechanisms, measures, and tools that will support mental health at the level of individuals, communities, and the entire population.
   
• In addition, the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic is currently preparing a website for the Slovak Government's Council for Mental Health. The website will include an educational section on mental health, providing basic information about mental health, links to an existing support map, and direct links to organisations active in the field of mental health. The website launch is scheduled for no later than June 2025. 
  
  

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 for online safety education

• In April 2024, the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic presented a framework for the regulation of mobile phones and similar devices in primary schools. Regulation is regulated by Act No. 245/2008 Coll., which enters into force on 01 January 2025. In primary schools, in the first to third grade, it completely bans the use of mobile phones. In grades four to nine, the use of mobile phones is possible, if required by the state educational program or by the decision of the teacher. The prohibition does not apply to students with disabilities using a means of communication for purposes related to a disability.
• The Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic issued Directive No. 36 /2018 on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying Among Children and Students in Schools and Educational Institutions.
  Additionally, the National Project DiTEdu provides teacher training and lesson plans for teaching cybersecurity and online safety.
• 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.
• One of the main goals of the educational standard of informatics is 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. 

Digital literacy skills to empower young people

• Training in basic digital skills is part of the educational standard for informatics. One of its main goals is the effective use of digital technologies— selecting and utilizing appropriate tools to achieve goals, and working correctly and safely in a digital environment. This includes navigating web pages, searching for texts and images on specified pages, and understanding safe and ethical online behaviour. Informatics is a compulsory subject for grades 3-8, with each student receiving a total of 6 hours per week of informatics instruction at elementary school.
• 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

• The National Coordination Centre for Resolving the Issues of Violence against Children (NCC) emphasises a participatory approach in policy-making. This method actively involves young people, particularly in discussions surrounding children’s digital activities. The goal is to engage children directly in designing policies and strategies that affect their lives. This initiative has been an integral part of the National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Violence, where children from various regions of Slovakia have actively participated in the strategy development through in-person participatory meetings. The approach has been applied extensively during the years 2022, 2023, and 2024, with discussions held across Slovakia.
• In 2025, the National Strategy for Child Protection in the Digital Environment is scheduled for redesign. There is a plan to revisit the regions to gather firsthand insights from children on what is important to them in online protection. The discussions will include representatives from NCC, NGOs, judges, and police officers, ensuring children engage with these stakeholders as equals. This approach not only enriches the policy-making process with real-world perspectives from those directly affected—children—but also empowers young people by acknowledging their views and experiences as crucial inputs to policy development.

Supporting children's rights

• The National Project DiTEdu provides various outreach and public awareness activities promoting cybersecurity and online safety. Children’s rights, including those related to the digital space, are discussed during participatory meetings organized by the National Coordination Centre for Resolving the Issues of Violence against Children. These are informal and irregular activities.
• Additionally, an initiative by the Office for Personal Data Protection was supported to establish a dedicated email address to enhance the protection of children’s and youth's personal data.
• Experts from the Media Literacy+ platform coordinated by the Council for Media Services organised Media and Information Literacy Week, which was held between 24 and 31 October 2024. All activities prepared by the platform’s initiative members this year revolved around the theme ‘Opportunities vs. Responsibility: How to Live in the Digital World.’ The week included workshops, discussions, and a conference and produced a guide for thriving online.

Digital inclusion

• The National Project DiTEdu aims to close the first digital divide by providing every school in the country with a basic level of digital infrastructure, including internet access and an ‘inclusion set’, targeting marginalised and disadvantaged groups.
• The Digital Youth Forum (DYF), organised by the National Coordination Centre (NCC), is inspired by a successful model from a neighbouring country and aims to engage high school students in Slovakia in fostering safe, creative, and positive use of digital technologies. The event features a rich mix of lectures, interactive discussions, technological workshops, and entertainment, including music and good food, to create a comprehensive educational experience. The forum emphasises key digital themes such as women in IT, sexual education, video games, and environmental activism through technology, incorporating presentations from both experts and peers to foster a peer-to-peer learning environment. Held annually, the forum has successfully engaged 160 high school students in both Žilina in 2023 and Prešov in 2024, demonstrating a strong potential for further expansion. 
   

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

BIK+ index 2025: 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 2025.