Misinformation and freedom of expression – the case of the Albanian "anti-defamation package"
On Thursday, 11 June 2020, at the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG 2020), the Insafe network of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs), represented by Sabrina Vorbau, Project Manager at European Schoolnet (EUN) and Youth Coordinator on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) project and Joachim Kind, Head of EU Networks at the Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate (LMK) and spokesperson for the German Safer Internet Centre (SIC), hosted a workshop on "Social media – opportunities, rights and responsibilities", looking at the limitations and pitfalls of freedom of speech on the internet from multiple stakeholder perspectives. In this article, Dr Nertil Bërdufi, Assistant Professor at University College Beder and Founder and Director of Beder Legal Clinic, discusses the case of Albania to highlight the societal and security impact of disinformation, as well as the governments' controversial attempt at regulating it.
The good, the bad and the urgent – tackling information disorder
On Thursday, 11 June 2020, at the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG 2020), the Insafe network of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs), represented by Sabrina Vorbau, Project Manager at European Schoolnet (EUN) and Youth Coordinator on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) project and Joachim Kind, Head of EU Networks at the Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate (LMK) and spokesperson for the German Safer Internet Centre (SIC), hosted a workshop on "Social media – opportunities, rights and responsibilities", looking at the limitations and pitfalls of freedom of speech on the internet from multiple stakeholder perspectives. In this article, Tanja Pavleska from the Laboratory for Open Systems and Networks, Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia, examines some of the challenges encountered by the initiatives combating disinformation.
Latest helpline trends: Quarter 1, 2020
The Insafe network of helplines collects data about the types of calls received and this is analysed every three months to look at trends and new and emerging issues.
Dickpics, porn stickers, dirty talk: sexual harassment online
Sexual messages, pictures and videos reach young people online every day. Without the consent of the recipient, this must be classified as sexual harassment. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, communication has shifted to the digital space even more; the German Awareness Centre klicksafe offers advice for those affected and recommends that children and young people should be made aware of sexual border violations in the digital world in an age-appropriate manner.
ITU publishes 2020 Guidelines on Child Online Protection
On Tuesday, 23 June 2020, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) launched its new 2020 Guidelines on Child Online Protection (COP), a set of recommendations for children, parents, educators, industry and policy makers on how to contribute to the development of a safe and empowering online environment for children and young people.
CO:RE – A pan-European knowledge platform on digital technologies in the lives of children
The CO:RE – Children Online: Research and Evidence (CO:RE) project is a three-year long project funded by the European Commission in the framework of Horizon 2020, aiming to establish a pan-European knowledge platform on digital technologies in the lives of children and young people.
The power of likes through the eyes of Greek SIC's Youth Panel
Teenagers and adults are constantly bombarded with images depicting "perfect" bodies, faces, products and relationships, making them feel inadequate and urging them to have similar lifestyles.
Bulgarian youth panellist named one of 12 "kid activists who are changing the world"
16-year-old Bulgarian youth panellist Milena Radoytseva was recently recognised as one of 12 kid activists who are changing their communities and the world for the better by The Washington Post. As a member of the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre's Youth panel, Milena is making the internet safer for Bulgarian children and their families.
#George's Room: A theatre play for young people on cyberbullying and online safety
CYTA, an organisation part of the Cypriot Safer Internet Centre (SIC) has produced a theatre play on cyberbullying for high school students, called #George's Room. It has been performed in 350 schools in the country, for two consecutive academic years (2018/19 and 2019/20).
In the spotlight: Safer Internet Centres in Estonia and Finland
As part of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Quality Assurance Programme (QAP), the Insafe-INHOPE Coordination Teams are jointly conducting a set of ten country visits to national Safer Internet Centres (SICs) to better understand what is happening in the Member States: monitoring emerging issues and challenges, identifying good practices to be shared, and harvesting the results of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) policy. Exchange of good practices and identifying further opportunities for collaboration was also the focus of a cluster meeting organised between the Safer Internet Centres in Estonia and Finland on 9-10 December 2019, hosted at the Sofia Future Farm in Helsinki.
