Better Internet for Kids

Jointly, European Schoolnet and INHOPE support the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres in responding to the latest online issues, helping to promote the many opportunities the online world offers, while also addressing the challenges. And while Europe’s children and youth are the main beneficiaries of this work, the Better Internet for Kids initiative also reaches out to, and collaborates with, a range of other stakeholders – parents and caregivers, teachers and educators, researchers, industry, civil society, decision-makers and law enforcement – reflecting the fact that we all have a role to play in creating a better internet. Additionally, the actions conducted in the framework of BIK frequently reach beyond Europe, impacting safer and better internet approaches right across the globe.   

Against a demanding backdrop featuring profound challenges and change, 2024 nonetheless saw considerable progress in online safety and digital empowerment for youth:

• The Digital Services Act (DSA) is now running at full speed, particularly with respect to its provisions related to the protection of minors online. During 2024, the European Commission initiated formal proceedings against TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, as there are concerns and suspicions around some of their default account settings and algorithms. TikTok Lite, in particular, was additionally investigated for addictive design. 
• In 2024, the first trusted flaggers under the DSA were appointed in some Member States. They will play a crucial role in identifying and reporting illegal and harmful content directly to platforms for immediate action, ensuring that digital spaces remain safe and secure for all users. 
• Youth participation remains at the heart of the BIK initiative. BIK Youth Ambassadors were consulted in the summer for the first evaluation of the BIK+ strategy – the first results from this consultation are now out (see below). They are also involved in the ongoing preparation of the DSA guidelines under Article 28, to be adopted in 2025, which will outline recommendations for online platforms to ensure privacy, safety, and security for minors. 

A few highlights of 2024

The BIK platform underwent a major technical redevelopment. With a completely new appearance, it now offers a wider range of features, resources, and content, the scope of which will continue to be expanded over time. For example, with the launch of the new platform, we also launched a completely new Parents and caregivers corner, meant to support parents, caregivers, and generally any tutoring figure to help children and young people navigate the digital world. A special section provides information on parental controls for a range of different platforms and devices. 

The platform redevelopment naturally also impacted the Safer Internet Day website, complemented by a full youth-led redesign project of the SID mascot, engaging 15 young people aged 14 to 18 from 11 different countries. The aim was to create a new SID mascot that felt protective, positive, relatable to young people, and as inclusive and gender neutral as possible. The result is Ally, a bird-like robot mascot designed to protect young people from online risks and inspire confidence. Every detail of the new design emerged from careful discussions, feedback, and creative input in co-creation with young people. Consequently, a new version of the Safer Internet Day promotional video was launched.

The annual celebration of Safer Internet Day (SID) in February 2024 again saw stakeholders across the world unite with the common aim of creating a better digital world for children and young people. On the occasion, the user-friendly booklet The Digital Services Act (DSA) explained: Measures to protect children and young people online was made available via the website of the Publications Office of the EU in all EU languages. In addition, a focus group meeting was organised with young people, teachers, school administrators, Digital Service Coordinators and Safer Internet Centres, representing 14 European countries. The focus group aimed to identify the needs of young people and how DSCs and SICs can support schools through resources, training, and advice on child online safety issues. Lastly, a spotlight was placed on the opportunities and challenges for children and young people in virtual worlds, along with a mapping of relevant resources from European Safer Internet Centres.  

Two new BIK campaigns were launched during the year: 

• AdWiseOnline seeks to analyse current and emerging marketing practices targeting children and youth. After initial research to learn more about manipulative digital practices targeted at children and youth online, alongside rights and responsibilities under the existing EU legal framework, a first AdWiseOnline campaign was scoped and piloted to spotlight the importance of child and youth consumer protection in digital environments while raising awareness about manipulative digital marketing practices. A key objective was to enhance young people’s understanding of digital marketing and online advertising, empower them with knowledge about their online rights as young consumers, and provide support to those who support them in their daily lives (such as parents, caregivers, and teachers). A second edition of the campaign is in progress (early 2025), spotlighting critical issues in online gaming, such as persuasive design, dark patterns, loot boxes, pay-to-win mechanisms, FOMO (fear of missing out) tactics, and excessive microtransactions. 
• MediaSmartOnline spotlighted media literacy initiatives, programmes, resources and actions available across Europe building on the networking resources and efforts of the Insafe network and a range of media literacy experts and stakeholders. By showcasing the existing flourishing activity in the field, it also aimed to build synergies and opportunities for collaboration. The campaign was first pilot-tested in a small number of European countries in March-April 2024, and a Media Literacy Campaign Working Group was subsequently set up to contribute to the planning and delivery of the first, full EU-wide roll-out of the campaign. The full campaign subsequently took place between October and December 2024, and included the launch of various new assets, such as a MediaSmartOnline Instagram account, the involvement of BIK Youth panellists in scoping campaign activities, and a Be MediaSmartOnline guide, collecting 120+ resources and actions tagged by country, language, and target audience. 

Upon the publication of the European strategy for a better internet (BIK+) in 2022, one of its key commitments was to organise a child-led evaluation of the strategyevery two years. The first of these periodic reviews was launched in 2024, with the objective to review and assess the progress and success of the BIK+ strategy since its adoption, identify emerging risks and new challenges, and propose actionable recommendations for improvement. The consultation protocol was designed and developed, adopting a qualitative approach based on focus group methodologies. A preliminary report is now available and summarises the views of 759 children and young people from across Europe, alongside input from 59 expert stakeholders from academia, civil society, industry, and policy across Europe. 

The 2024 edition of theSafer Internet Forum (SIF)  provided an opportunity to focus on pillar one of the BIK+ strategy: safe digital experiences and, more specifically, how to protect children and young people against inappropriate content and bullying online. The event was once again organised in a youth-led manner, with a remarkable group of 48 young people from 28 different European countries playing an active role in the planning, preparation, and delivery of the Forum through the customary SIF Youth Advisory Group (YAG) and BIK Youth Panel. To coincide with SIF, a new Guide to age assurance section was launched on the BIK portal, including the family-friendly age assurance toolkit with a collection of bite-sized explainers of what age assurance is and why it matters, the report mapping age assurance typologies and requirements, and the guide to age assurance for digital providers. 

BIK Youth were especially active throughout the whole year. In addition to the previously mentioned SID and SIF, BIK Youth Ambassadors took part in a wide range of online and in-person events, exchanging views and voicing their opinions on how to ensure a safer, better online experience for young people, and helping to shape campaign activities. 

In April 2024, eight BIK Youth Ambassadors participated in the session Building trust - media literacy with and for young voters at the Google Summit on fighting misinformation online, addressing disinformation trends and media literacy challenges ahead of key global elections. For the European Youth Week, BIK Youth Ambassadors Joana and Diya co-chaired a session at the European Parliament titled Check your facts! The power of digital skills, critical thinking, and open data. The session focused on tackling misinformation and disinformation in the digital age. At the 2024 Internet Governance Forum, BIK Youth Ambassador João represented young European leaders, ensuring their voices were heard in shaping the future of the internet. 

Discover more about youth involvement in 2024 in this child-friendly infographic.   

What's next?

2025 will focus on continuing to implement the actions of the BIK+ strategy and associated measures. Under the new Commission, the protection and empowerment of children will remain a priority. 

Efforts will include an EU-wide inquiry into the impacts of social media on well-being, an action plan on cyberbullying (given that it has consistently been the main reason for children to contact SIC helplines), and monitoring of unethical techniques by platforms, such as addictive design. In this context, the role of the BIK+ strategy and the Safer Internet Centres network, particularly the helplines, will be reinforced to assist and advise children, carers and educators. 

Also in 2025, the EU will continue the ongoing enforcement of the Digital Services Act and will deliver guidelines for all online platforms to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security for young users. 

Last but not least, we will continue working towards a European approach to age verification, developing a secure, privacy-preserving, and interoperable age verification solution, in preparation for the EU Digital Wallet's availability by the end of 2026.   

In summary, in 2025 we must continue to ensure that children and young people (and those that have a responsibility to care for and support them) know how to use the online content and services at their disposal safely and effectively, and can become empowered and responsible digital users. 

Discover more by browsing through the full report below:  

Alternatively, download a PDF version of the 2024 review of the year, and view the infographic 2024 in figures, summarising the main statistics of the year. 

Additionally, you can browse BIK annual reports from previous years.