Better Internet for Kids

INHOPEs mission is to support our member hotlines in the rapid identification and removal of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from the digital world. By processing incoming reports of suspected CSAM, our network prevents distribution and revictimisation, which is crucial to avoid further harm and trauma for the affected children. However, if we want to reach our goal of an internet free of CSAM, we must not only react to abuse but also focus on preventing abuse before it happens.

On Thursday, 22 September 2022, Better Internet for Kids (BIK) organised a Roundtable on child and youth consumer protection in digital markets on behalf of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CONNECT) and DG Justice and Consumers (JUST) of the European Commission. The event took place online.

Safer Internet Forum - the annual international conference on online safety for children in Europe - returned for another edition in October 2022, providing an opportunity to discuss the new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+) and set new goals to achieve a safer and better online experience for all.

The United Nations Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organisations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.

As part of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Quality Assurance Programme (QAP), the Insafe-INHOPE Coordination Teams are jointly conducting a set of fourteen 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. Even though the COVID-19 related safety measures are getting lighter across Europe, it was still agreed by both parties that some of the visits would take place in an online format, particularly in the case of cluster meetings, in order to facilitate interaction between SICs that are geographically distant and different from each other in terms of culture and language. To this end, one such online cluster meeting was organised with the Greek and Irish SICs.

Pressure, overworking, sleep deprivation, comparison with others and feeling unwell are just some of the negative effects of the internet that affect girls more than boys, according to a survey conducted by the Slovenian Safer Internet Centre.

The Insafe network of helplines collects data about the types of calls they receive and this is analysed every three months in order to look at possible trends and emerging issues.

While simultaneously facing the war and the massive displacement of those affected by the conflict, the Ukrainian Safer Internet Centre provides educational tools for teachers, psychologists, and youth workers.

In October 2022, the day after the Safer Internet Forum (SIF), participants from the SIC+ programme gathered together from all over the world to participate in the SIC+ Focus Group in Brussels. In addition to the SIC+ members, a number of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs), the European Commission (EC), BIK Youth Ambassadors and Twitter were also represented. The session focused on two main topics for exchange: public-private partnerships and Safer Internet Day 2023. This article provides a brief overview of the points discussed.