On 11 May 2024, as part of the celebrations for the two-year anniversary of the European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+), the Compendium of the EU formal texts concerning children in the digital world was updated with the developments since 2022.

The compendium aims to provide a comprehensive overview of relevant EU legislation and policies, serving as a reference guide for policymakers, stakeholders and researchers. It includes laws currently in force, legislative proposals, strategies, and self and co-regulatory measures. 

You can read and download the latest edition of the Compendium of EU formal texts concerning children in the digital world on the website of the Publications Office of the European Union. Currently available in English, the compendium will soon be available in all EU languages.

The Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) recently published new guidelines for policymakers and educators on how to support wellbeing at school, with the aim of enhancing supportive learning environments for vulnerable learners, and for promoting wellbeing and mental health at school.

These are the first outcomes of the activity of the European Commission's expert group which is part of the Pathways to School Success, a flagship initiative of the European Education Area. These experts include researchers, academics, teachers and school principals, teacher trainers, school and child psychologists.

The aim of the is expert group is to develop evidence-based policy recommendations and guidelines to address the wellbeing challenges young people and teachers are facing. Among these recommendations, the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres is mentioned, alongside the BIK portal, the Safer Internet Forum, and the booklet The Digital Services Act (DSA) explained: Measures to protect children and young people online.

In addition, two webinars are being organised by the European Toolkit for Schools, promoting school success, inclusive education, and wellbeing at school. Save the dates below:

• Tuesday, 18 June 2024, 16:00 CEST - Promoting wellbeing for improved learning outcomes;
• Wednesday, 26 June 2024, 16:00 CEST - Wellbeing without overload: Integrating self-care in teaching practices.

The Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Policy Monitor (previously the BIK Policy Map) has been tracking how European countries support children’s and young people’s digital experiences since 2014. Since its launch a decade ago, the main objective of this series has been to compare and exchange knowledge on policies and actions that promote children's safety and well-being in the digital environment based on the recommended measures of the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (the BIK strategy). Along with changes in the digital environment, the strategy has also evolved and was relaunched as the BIK+ strategy in May 2022. In May 2024, as BIK+ celebrates its second anniversary, the fifth report of this series is released to mark this important milestone.

Read an article on the report launch here.

Read the full BIK Policy Monitor Report 2024 here.

Age assurance is one solution that can be used to keep children safe from online risks. In recent years, research has been undertaken to investigate and analyse different measures for age assurance online. As part of comprehensive EU efforts, as enshrined in the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids+ (the BIK+ strategy), the European Commission recently published a research report, Mapping age assurance typologies and requirements, that examines various types of age assurance and outlines ten essential requirements to consider when implementing age assurance tools.

To support and expand the implementation of proportionate age assurance methods and build on the report, an age assurance self-assessment tool and corresponding questionnaire have been launched, helping digital service providers to critically reflect on their digital services and how these may intersect with the protection of children and young people online. It offers practical guidance to digital services providers throughout the self-assessment process, providing relevant questions about age assurance to attain a robust and critically reflected decision-making process regarding the protection of minors online.

Read the article on the tool launch here.

Download the self-assessment tool manual here, and the corresponding questionnaire here.

Some of the key developments in recent years revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) applications emerging in all sectors of society, from leisure and learning to business and health. Recognising these developments and the potential of the technology, in July 2023, the European Commission adopted a strategy on Web 4.0 and virtual worlds. The aim is to “steer the next technological transition and ensure an open, secure, trustworthy, fair and inclusive digital environment for EU citizens and business and public administrations". 

Within the framework of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) project, we are keen to support this developing area of work around virtual worlds with a discussion panel. Hence, a BIK discussion panel on virtual worlds will take place online on Tuesday, 18 June 2024, 14:00 – 16:00 CEST. All network members are invited to register using this link. Details on the agenda and speakers will follow soon.

In case of any queries, please contact Rima.

Many thanks to those people who attended the recent meeting with Tech Matters. It was a really useful session and the system - which is open source - could prove useful to many helplines. The meeting was recorded and you can find a link to the recording along with a copy of the slides that were shared in the BIK community (login first). Tech Matters is also very happy to meet with individual helplines to demonstrate the product if this would be useful. For further information, please contact Karl.

The next early warning meeting for helplines will take place on Friday, 7 June 2024 at 11:00 CEST; join using this link. Helplines that are unable to join can share any updates with Karl ahead of the meeting.

An online meeting with OnlyFans will take place on Friday, 14 June 2024 at 14:30 CEST. The meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about the platform and the safety and privacy features that they have in place; join using this link. For further information, please contact Karl. 

An online meeting focusing on accessibility will take place on Thursday, 20 June 2024 at 11:00 CEST. During this meeting, we will explore the main accessibility criteria and see how any SIC member can produce more accessible content; join using this link. For further information, please contact Annarita. 

During this meeting, we'll be making reference to the good practice guide "Ensuring accessibility in content for all" that we produced for the network back in October 2023. It is dedicated to content managers and editors, and includes a series of recommendations, suggestions, and tips on how to make the content you produce more accessible - whether you're working with websites, Word or PDF documents, presentations, videos, or social media.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

An online meeting with WebGroup (who own and operate the adult site XVideos) will take place on Wednesday, 3 July 2024 at 11:00 CEST. The meeting will be an opportunity to hear more about the safety and privacy tools that they have in place as well as reporting routes and how to flag problematic content; join the meeting using this link. For further information, please contact Karl. 

We are delighted to open the call for youth participation in this year's Safer Internet Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium in November 2024.

This year is a little different; we are issuing three separate calls as follows (please ensure that you read and follow the detailed application process for the respective strand(s) you are interested in):

• BIK Youth Panel - open to youth associated with all Insafe network member countries (excluding the UK).
  Find further details, including information on the application process for the BIK YOUTH PANEL here.
  The deadline for applications is the close of business on Friday, 14 June 2024.
  Team contacts for further information are Sabrina and Eray.
  
  
• Safer Internet Forum Youth Advisory Group (SIF YAG) - open to youth associated with EC co-funded SICs only.
  Find further details, including information on the application process for the SIF YAG here.
  The deadline for applications is the close of business on Friday, 7 June 2024.
  Team contacts for further information are Sabrina and Chiara.
  
  
• International Youth Panel (new this year) - open to youth associated with member countries of the SIC+ scheme and the UK.
  Find further details, including information on the application process for the INTERNATIONAL YOUTH PANEL here.
  The deadline for applications is the close of business on Friday, 7 June 2024.
  Team contacts for further information are Sabrina and Eray. 

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on virtual worlds and immersive realities on Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will explore virtual worlds and immersive realities. Some of the key developments in recent years revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) applications emerging in all sectors of society, such as leisure, health, and especially learning, training and education. Such technologies entail both great opportunities and concerning risks. How can teachers and educators be empowered with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the implications of immersive realities in educational settings? 

You can register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner, or Webinar 2 on disinformation and fake news? Check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for recordings of previous webinars and more information on future ones. 

Safer Internet Centres are invited to participate in theAdWiseOnline consultation phaseto share their insights based on their knowledge and experience with issues related to online consumer protection for children and youth.  

This new BIK initiative aims to design and run awareness campaigns to empower children against manipulative digital marketing practices. In this context, a pilot phase of the AdWiseOnline campaign was launched this year.During this phase, a research report on Manipulative digital marketing practices targeting children and young people was published. Additionally, materials for young people were created to simplify the complex terminology of digital marketing and the legal framework of consumer rights: the AdWiseOnline guide for young people to outsmart online ads and marketing traps and the AdWiseOnline video.  

To scope the next steps and further develop and rollout the campaign, with the most impactful reach and results for the target audiences, we seek your feedback!Please fill in the AdWiseOnline surveyby COB on Monday, 24 June 2024 and contact Inna for any questions/requests. 

The next edition of the BIK bulletin will be published at the end of June with a focus on Virtual Worlds. As always, we also invite Safer Internet Centres (and their partners) to contribute with general articles on news, resources or events. The content deadline is the close of business on Monday, 17 June 2024 (or sooner if possible) and all contributions or queries should be addressed to content@betterinternetforkids.eu.

As notified at the recent Insafe Steering Committee meeting, the procedural timeline for lump sum mechanism (LSM) claims is changing slightly. Although the claim period applies from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, we are now asking Safer Internet Centres to notify us of their intent to claim earlier in the year (May-June). 

Therefore, could SICs that intend to claim the lump sum mechanism for 2024 please confirm this in an email to the BIK content mailbox by close of business on Monday, 17 June 2024. 

The qualifying content will remain largely similar to previous years - that is, a mix of public articles, resource and helpline case study uploads, community posts, and general capacity-building actions spread throughout the year. There will also be an emphasis on new content types to support the population of the new BIK platform in the second part of the year (further information to follow); for now, please continue contributing content as usual. Following expressions of intent, SICs will receive an updated criteria checklist which aligns with the new content and editorial strategy of the redeveloped BIK platform and ensures that contributions are more evenly distributed across the year. Please note that assessment platform submissions (for awareness, helplines and hotlines) will no longer fall within the LSM criteria as these are mandatory requirements under your SIC grant agreements.

• Global Day of Parents 2024

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox. (SIC RO)

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline community of practice

• Aselo - open source contact centre system for helplines
  

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids

On 11 May 2024, as part of the celebrations for the two-year anniversary of the European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+), the Compendium of the EU formal texts concerning children in the digital world was updated with the developments since 2022.

The compendium aims to provide a comprehensive overview of relevant EU legislation and policies, serving as a reference guide for policymakers, stakeholders and researchers. It includes laws currently in force, legislative proposals, strategies, and self and co-regulatory measures. 

You can read and download the latest edition of the Compendium of EU formal texts concerning children in the digital world on the website of the Publications Office of the European Union. Currently available in English, the compendium will soon be available in all EU languages.

The Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) recently published new guidelines for policymakers and educators on how to support wellbeing at school, with the aim of enhancing supportive learning environments for vulnerable learners, and for promoting wellbeing and mental health at school.

These are the first outcomes of the activity of the European Commission's expert group which is part of the Pathways to School Success, a flagship initiative of the European Education Area. These experts include researchers, academics, teachers and school principals, teacher trainers, school and child psychologists.

The aim of the is expert group is to develop evidence-based policy recommendations and guidelines to address the wellbeing challenges young people and teachers are facing. Among these recommendations, the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres is mentioned, alongside the BIK portal, the Safer Internet Forum, and the booklet The Digital Services Act (DSA) explained: Measures to protect children and young people online.

In addition, two webinars are being organised by the European Toolkit for Schools, promoting school success, inclusive education, and well-being at school. Save the dates below:

• Tuesday, 18 June 2024, 16:00 CEST - Promoting wellbeing for improved learning outcomes;
• Wednesday, 26 June 2024, 16:00 CEST - Wellbeing without overload: Integrating self-care in teaching practices.

The Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Policy Monitor (previously the BIK Policy Map) has been tracking how European countries support children’s and young people’s digital experiences since 2014. Since its launch a decade ago, the main objective of this series has been to compare and exchange knowledge on policies and actions that promote children's safety and well-being in the digital environment based on the recommended measures of the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (the BIK strategy). Along with changes in the digital environment, the strategy has also evolved and was relaunched as the BIK+ strategy in May 2022. In May 2024, as BIK+ celebrates its second anniversary, the fifth report of this series is released to mark this important milestone.

Read an article on the report launch here.

Read the full BIK Policy Monitor Report 2024 here.

Age assurance is one solution that can be used to keep children safe from online risks. In recent years, research has been undertaken to investigate and analyse different measures for age assurance online. As part of comprehensive EU efforts, as enshrined in the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids+ (the BIK+ strategy), the European Commission recently published a research report, Mapping age assurance typologies and requirements, that examines various types of age assurance and outlines ten essential requirements to consider when implementing age assurance tools.

To support and expand the implementation of proportionate age assurance methods and build on the report, an age assurance self-assessment tool and corresponding questionnaire have been launched, helping digital service providers to critically reflect on their digital services and how these may intersect with the protection of children and young people online. It offers practical guidance to digital services providers throughout the self-assessment process, providing relevant questions about age assurance to attain a robust and critically reflected decision-making process regarding the protection of minors online.

Read the article on the tool launch here.

Download the self-assessment tool manual here, and the corresponding questionnaire here.

Tech Matters is a Silicon Valley nonprofit with a mission to bring the benefits of technology to all of humanity, not just the richest 5 per cent. They have developed Aselo, which is an open-source, cloud-based contact centre platform in partnership with Child Helpline International (CHI) and will provide a demonstration of the system and answer questions about how it works and its functionality. More information on Aselo will be shared with helplines and is also available from the BIK community (login first). The meeting will take place on Thursday, 30 May 2024 at 16:15 CEST. Join the meeting using this link; for further information, please contact Karl.

The next early warning meeting for helplines will take place on Friday, 7 June 2024 at 11:00 CEST; join using this link. Helplines that are unable to join can share any updates with Karl ahead of the meeting.

An online meeting with OnlyFans will take place on Friday, 14 June 2024 at 14:30 CEST. The meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about the platform and the safety and privacy features that they have in place; join using this link. For further information, please contact Karl. 

An online meeting focusing on accessibility will take place on Thursday, 20 June 2024 at 11:00 CEST. During this meeting, we will explore the main accessibility criteria and see how any SIC member can produce more accessible content; join using this link. For further information, please contact Annarita. 

During this meeting, we'll be making reference to the good practice guide "Ensuring accessibility in content for all" that we produced for the network back in October 2023. It is dedicated to content managers and editors, and includes a series of recommendations, suggestions, and tips on how to make the content you produce more accessible - whether you're working with websites, Word or PDF documents, presentations, videos, or social media.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

An online meeting with WebGroup (who own and operate the adult site XVideos) will take place on Wednesday, 3 July 2024 at 11:00 CEST. The meeting will be an opportunity to hear more about the safety and privacy tools that they have in place as well as reporting routes and how to flag problematic content; join the meeting using this link. For further information, please contact Karl. 

Safer Internet Centres are invited to participate in theAdWiseOnline consultation phaseto share their insights based on their knowledge and experience with issues related to online consumer protection for children and youth.  

A new BIK's initiative aims to design and run awareness campaigns to empower children against manipulative digital marketing practices. In this context, a pilot phase of the AdWiseOnline campaign was launched this year.During this phase, a research report on Manipulative digital marketing practices targeting children and young people has been published. Additionally, materials for young people were created to simplify the complex terminology of digital marketing and the legal framework of consumer rights: the AdWiseOnline guide for young people to outsmart online ads and marketing traps and the AdWiseOnline video.  

To scope the next steps and further develop and rollout the campaign, with the most impactful reach and results for the target audiences, we seek your feedback! 
Please fill in the AdWiseOnline surveyby COB on Monday, 24 Juneand contact Inna for any questions/requests. 

The "Make it clear: effective media education" international conference will take place in Warsaw, Poland tomorrow Tuesday, 28 May 2024.

The event brings together international experts from different areas of media education and internet safety, who will share their knowledge and experience related to developing young people's information literacy, an informed and critical approach to media content, and countering disinformation. Several presentations and debates will provide concrete tools and inspiration for use in everyday teaching practice.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format (onsite and online) in both Polish and English. You can still register for online participation here. 

This conference is organised within the framework of the Creative Europe Programme by a consortium consisting of NASK (Poland), the Latvian Internet Association, and Save the Children Romania.

The network is encouraged to disseminate this information further, and/or to participate in the conference. For any additional queries, please contact mic@nask.pl.

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on virtual worlds and immersive realities on Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will explore virtual worlds and immersive realities. Some of the key developments in recent years revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) applications emerging in all sectors of society, such as leisure, health, and especially learning, training and education. Such technologies entail both great opportunities and concerning risks. How can teachers and educators be empowered with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the implications of immersive realities in educational settings? 

You can register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner, or Webinar 2 on disinformation and fake news? Check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for recordings of previous webinars and more information on future ones. 

The next edition of the BIK bulletin will be published at the end of June with a focus on Virtual Worlds. As always, we also invite Safer Internet Centres (and their partners) to contribute with general articles on news, resources or events. The content deadline is the close of business on Monday, 17 June 2024 (or sooner if possible) and all contributions or queries should be addressed to content@betterinternetforkids.eu.

As notified at the recent Insafe Steering Committee meeting, the procedural timeline for lump sum mechanism (LSM) claims is changing slightly. Although the claim period applies from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, we are now asking Safer Internet Centres to notify us of their intent to claim earlier in the year (May-June). 

Therefore, could SICs that intend to claim the lump sum mechanism for 2024 please confirm this in an email to the BIK content mailbox by close of business on Monday, 17 June 2024. 

The qualifying content will remain largely similar to previous years - that is, a mix of public articles, resource and helpline case study uploads, community posts, and general capacity-building actions spread throughout the year. There will also be an emphasis on new content types to support the population of the new BIK platform in the second part of the year (further information to follow); for now, please continue contributing content as usual. Following expressions of intent, SICs will receive an updated criteria checklist which aligns with the new content and editorial strategy of the redeveloped BIK platform and ensures that contributions are more evenly distributed across the year. Please note that assessment platform submissions (for awareness, helplines and hotlines) will no longer fall within the LSM criteria as these are mandatory requirements under your SIC grant agreements.

• Sharenting: tips for parents and caregivers (SIC RO)
• World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2024

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox. (SIC RO)

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline case studies

• Minor extorted by alleged spiritual advisor (SIC ES)

Helpline community of practice

• Meta - crisis call - report from online meeting - May 2024
  

Hotline community of practice

• The 2024 annual Nordic Hotline meeting in Helsinki (SIC FI)

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids

The Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Policy Monitor (previously the BIK Policy Map) has been tracking how European countries support children’s and young people’s digital experiences since 2014. Since its launch a decade ago, the main objective of this series has been to compare and exchange knowledge on policies and actions that promote children's safety and well-being in the digital environment based on the recommended measures of the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (the BIK strategy). Along with changes in the digital environment, the strategy has also evolved and was relaunched as the BIK+ strategy in May 2022. In May 2024, as BIK+ celebrates its second anniversary, the fifth report of this series is released to mark this important milestone.

Read an article on the report launch here.

Read the full BIK Policy Monitor Report 2024 here.

Age assurance is one solution that can be used to keep children safe from online risks. In recent years, research has been undertaken to investigate and analyse different measures for age assurance online. As part of comprehensive EU efforts, as enshrined in the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids+ (the BIK+ strategy), the European Commission recently published a research report, Mapping age assurance typologies and requirements, that examines various types of age assurance and outlines ten essential requirements to consider when implementing age assurance tools.

To support and expand the implementation of proportionate age assurance methods and build on the report, an age assurance self-assessment tool and corresponding questionnaire have been launched, helping digital service providers to critically reflect on their digital services and how these may intersect with the protection of children and young people online. It offers practical guidance to digital services providers throughout the self-assessment process, providing relevant questions about age assurance to attain a robust and critically reflected decision-making process regarding the protection of minors online.

Read the article on the tool launch here.

Download the self-assessment tool manual here, and the corresponding questionnaire here.

This webinar is organised as part of the BIK Phase 5 project.

Discover the unsettling parallels between the misuse of generative AI and traditional predatory tactics in INHOPE’s upcoming webinar with Henry Adams, Danielle Williams and Irina Novozhilova from Resolver, a Kroll business. The webinar, taking place this Thursday, 23 May 2024 at 16:00 CEST, will delve into how prompt engineering is being exploited to create this new harmful material and what can be done to detect and prevent this by shining a light on the remarkable similarities to existing predatory abuse vectors. 

A full overview and registration information is available on the INHOPE website.  

Tech Matters is a Silicon Valley nonprofit with a mission to bring the benefits of technology to all of humanity, not just the richest 5 per cent. They have developed Aselo, which is an open-source, cloud-based contact centre platform in partnership with Child Helpline International (CHI) and will provide a demonstration of the system and answer questions about how it works and its functionality. More information on Aselo will be shared with helplines and is also available from the BIK community (login first). The meeting will take place on Thursday, 30 May 2024 at 16:15 CEST. Join the meeting using this link; for further information, please contact Karl.

The next early warning meeting for helplines will take place on Friday, 7 June 2024 at 11:00 CEST; join using this link. Helplines that are unable to join can share any updates with Karl ahead of the meeting.

An online meeting with OnlyFans will take place on Friday, 14 June 2024 at 14:30 CEST. The meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about the platform and the safety and privacy features that they have in place; join using this link. For further information, please contact Karl. 

An online meeting focusing on accessibility will take place on Thursday, 20 June 2024 at 11:00 CEST. During this meeting, we will explore the main accessibility criteria and see how any SIC member can produce more accessible content; join using this link. For further information, please contact Annarita. 

During this meeting, we'll be making reference to the good practice guide "Ensuring accessibility in content for all" that we produced for the network back in October 2023. It is dedicated to content managers and editors, and includes a series of recommendations, suggestions, and tips on how to make the content you produce more accessible - whether you're working with websites, Word or PDF documents, presentations, videos, or social media.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

An online meeting with WebGroup (who own and operate the adult site XVideos) will take place on Wednesday, 3 July 2024 at 11:00 CEST. The meeting will be an opportunity to hear more about the safety and privacy tools that they have in place as well as reporting routes and how to flag problematic content; join the meeting using this link. For further information, please contact Karl. 

We are delighted to open the call for youth participation in this year's Safer Internet Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium in November 2024.

This year is a little different; we are issuing three separate calls as follows (please ensure that you read and follow the detailed application process for the respective strand(s) you are interested in):

• BIK Youth Panel - open to youth associated with all Insafe network member countries (excluding the UK).
  Find further details, including information on the application process for the BIK YOUTH PANEL here.
  The deadline for applications is the close of business on Friday, 14 June 2024.
  Team contacts for further information are Sabrina and Eray.
   
• Safer Internet Forum Youth Advisory Group (SIF YAG) - open to youth associated with EC co-funded SICs only.
  Find further details, including information on the application process for the SIF YAG here.
  The deadline for applications is the close of business on Friday, 7 June 2024.
  Team contacts for further information are Sabrina and Chiara.
  
  
• International Youth Panel (new this year) - open to youth associated with member countries of the SIC+ scheme and the UK.
  Find further details, including information on the application process for the INTERNATIONAL YOUTH PANEL here.
  The deadline for applications is the close of business on Friday, 7 June 2024.
  Team contacts for further information are Sabrina and Eray. 

The "Make it clear: effective media education" international conference will take place in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday, 28 May 2024.

The event brings together international experts from different areas of media education and internet safety, who will share their knowledge and experience related to developing young people's information literacy, an informed and critical approach to media content, and countering disinformation. Several presentations and debates will provide concrete tools and inspiration for use in everyday teaching practice.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format (onsite and online) in both Polish and English. You can register for onsite/online participation here. Please note that the deadline to register is Sunday, 26 May for in-person attendance, and Tuesday, 28 May for online participation.

This conference is organised within the framework of the Creative Europe Programme by a consortium consisting of NASK (Poland), the Latvian Internet Association, and Save the Children Romania.

The network is encouraged to disseminate this information further, and/or to participate in the conference. For any additional queries, please contact mic@nask.pl.

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on virtual worlds and immersive realities on Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will explore virtual worlds and immersive realities. Some of the key developments in recent years revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) applications emerging in all sectors of society, such as leisure, health, and especially learning, training and education. Such technologies entail both great opportunities and concerning risks. How can teachers and educators be empowered with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the implications of immersive realities in educational settings? 

You can register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner, or Webinar 2 on disinformation and fake news? Check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for recordings of previous webinars and more information on future ones. 

The menABLE project (Empower Manpower against gender-based violence online) is organising an EU hackathon on Wednesday, 25 September 2024, in Aarhus, Denmark. Participants will collaborate to tackle the crucial issue of gender-based violence (GBV) online and contribute to the development of educational materials addressing GBV. Young people (aged 15-18) and educators are invited to express their interest in participating in the hackathon by responding to a call for interest by the close of business on Sunday, 26 May 2024.
 
Please visit the menABLE EU hackathon page for more information.  

The next edition of the BIK bulletin will be published at the end of June with a focus on Virtual Worlds. As always, we also invite Safer Internet Centres (and their partners) to contribute with general articles on news, resources or events. The content deadline is the close of business on Monday, 17 June 2024 (or sooner if possible) and all contributions or queries should be addressed to content@betterinternetforkids.eu.

As notified at the recent Insafe Steering Committee meeting, the procedural timeline for lump sum mechanism (LSM) claims is changing slightly. Although the claim period applies from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, we are now asking Safer Internet Centres to notify us of their intent to claim earlier in the year (May-June). 

Therefore, could SICs that intend to claim the lump sum mechanism for 2024 please confirm this in an email to the BIK content mailbox by close of business on Monday, 17 June 2024. 

The qualifying content will remain largely similar to previous years - that is, a mix of public articles, resource and helpline case study uploads, community posts, and general capacity-building actions spread throughout the year. There will also be an emphasis on new content types to support the population of the new BIK platform in the second part of the year (further information to follow); for now, please continue contributing content as usual. Following expressions of intent, SICs will receive an updated criteria checklist which aligns with the new content and editorial strategy of the redeveloped BIK platform and ensures that contributions are more evenly distributed across the year. Please note that assessment platform submissions (for awareness, helplines and hotlines) will no longer fall within the LSM criteria as these are mandatory requirements under your SIC grant agreements.

• Embracing JOMO: finding joy in offline experiences (SIC RO)
• World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
• Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day
• International Day of Families: celebrating families and addressing climate change
• Online safety education in schools (SIC RO)

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox. (SIC RO)

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline case studies

• Minor extorted by alleged spiritual advisor (SIC ES)

Helpline community of practice

• Meta - crisis call - report from online meeting - May 2024
• Aselo - online meeting for helplines
  

Hotline community of practice

• The 2024 annual Nordic Hotline meeting in Helsinki (SIC FI)

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids

Please note, as next Monday (20/05) will be a public holiday in many places, next week’s Weekly Update will be issued on Tuesday (21/05).

The Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Policy Monitor (previously the BIK Policy Map) has been tracking how European countries support children’s and young people’s digital experiences since 2014. Since its launch a decade ago, the main objective of this series has been to compare and exchange knowledge on policies and actions that promote children's safety and well-being in the digital environment based on the recommended measures of the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (the BIK strategy). Along with changes in the digital environment, the strategy has also evolved and was relaunched as the BIK+ strategy in May 2022. In May 2024, as BIK+ celebrates its second anniversary, the fifth report of this series is released to mark this important milestone.

Read an article on the report launch here.

Read the full BIK Policy Monitor Report 2024 here.

Age assurance is one solution that can be used to keep children safe from online risks. In recent years, research has been undertaken to investigate and analyse different measures for age assurance online. As part of comprehensive EU efforts, as enshrined in the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids+ (the BIK+ strategy), the European Commission recently published a research report, Mapping age assurance typologies and requirements, that examines various types of age assurance and outlines ten essential requirements to consider when implementing age assurance tools.

To support and expand the implementation of proportionate age assurance methods and build on the report, an age assurance self-assessment tool and corresponding questionnaire have been launched, helping digital service providers to critically reflect on their digital services and how these may intersect with the protection of children and young people online. It offers practical guidance to digital services providers throughout the self-assessment process, providing relevant questions about age assurance to attain a robust and critically reflected decision-making process regarding the protection of minors online.

Read the article on the tool launch here.

Download the self-assessment tool manual here, and the corresponding questionnaire here.

Following on from recent discussions at the training meeting and Insafe Steering Committee meeting, we are convening two new short-term working groups in the framework of the BIK Phase 5 project:

Short-term Public Concerns Working Group
We are looking for people to join a short-term Public Concerns Working Group (PCWG) to discuss how best to collect public concerns at the national level, including information about online safety research, the latest trends, media coverage of online safety-related issues, and any new legislation. It is important to capture this information from across the network in a timely manner in order to have an understanding of the current landscape in Europe.

The group is expected to meet two or three times over the next six months to determine the best way forward.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Karl by close of business today - Monday, 13 May 2024.

Short-term Media Literacy Campaign Working Group 
As you may know, within BIK Phase 5, we are carrying out a media literacy awareness-raising campaign in collaboration with the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs). Such a media literacy campaign needs to build on the networking resources available in the SICs while also building synergies and creating opportunities for collaboration across the network. We first pilot tested an approach in March-April 2024 in a restricted number of European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland), and now plan to gradually scale the campaign at an EU-wide level. Therefore a short-term Media Literacy Working Group (MLWG) will now be established, which will provide a dedicated space for SIC members to contribute their insights and perspectives in rolling out a full-scale, EU-wide media literacy campaign going forward.   

As members of the short-term MLWG, SIC members will have the opportunity to contribute to the development and co-creation of the awareness-raising campaign, from its concept to its delivery, in collaboration with the network. The group will also provide a unique opportunity for exchanging views and sharing best practices on the topic of media literacy, highlighting events and initiatives at the national level all across Europe.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Annarita by close of business today - Monday, 13 May 2024.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

The menABLE project (Empower Manpower against gender-based violence online) is organising an EU hackathon on Wednesday, 25 September 2024, in Aarhus, Denmark. Participants will collaborate to tackle the crucial issue of gender-based violence (GBV) online and contribute to the development of educational materials addressing GBV. Young people (aged 15-18) and educators are invited to express their interest in participating in the hackathon by responding to a call for interest by the close of business on Sunday, 26 May 2024.
 
Please visit the menABLE EU hackathon page for more information.  

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on virtual worlds and immersive realities on Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will explore virtual worlds and immersive realities. Some of the key developments in recent years revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) applications emerging in all sectors of society, such as leisure, health, and especially learning, training and education. Such technologies entail both great opportunities and concerning risks. How can teachers and educators be empowered with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the implications of immersive realities in educational settings? 

You can already register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner, or Webinar 2 on disinformation and fake news? Check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for recordings of previous webinars and more information on future ones. 

The "Make it clear: effective media education" international conference will take place in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday, 28 May 2024.

The event brings together international experts from different areas of media education and internet safety, who will share their knowledge and experience related to developing young people's information literacy, an informed and critical approach to media content, and countering disinformation. Several presentations and debates will provide concrete tools and inspiration for use in everyday teaching practice.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format (onsite and online) in both Polish and English. You can register for onsite/online participation here. Please note that the deadline to register is Sunday, 26 May for in-person attendance, and Tuesday, 28 May for online participation.

This conference is organised within the framework of the Creative Europe Programme by a consortium consisting of NASK (Poland), the Latvian Internet Association, and Save the Children Romania.

The network is encouraged to disseminate this information further, and/or to participate in the conference. For any additional queries, please contact mic@nask.pl.

• New launch: BIK age assurance self-assessment tool for digital service providers
• BIK Policy Monitor Report 2024 published
• Understanding children and adolescent social media usage (SIC RO)
• A comprehensive guide to safe internet practices for teachers (SIC RO)
• Let us celebrate together #EuropeDay 2024

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox. (SIC RO)

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline case studies

• A teenager confronted with a scam: A mother's call seeking help (SIC FR)
• Too much time spent on screens: A mother worried about her teenager (SIC FR)
• Suspected harassment and cyberstalking: A worried mother's story (SIC FR)
• Betrayed by a friend, the danger of exchanging intimate content between people you trust (SIC FR)

Awareness community of practice

• Media literacy: methodological support for educational activities (SIC LT)
  

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids

Following on from recent discussions at the training meeting and Insafe Steering Committee meeting, we are convening two new short-term working groups in the framework of the BIK Phase 5 project:

Short-term Public Concerns Working Group
We are looking for people to join a short-term Public Concerns Working Group (PCWG) to discuss how best to collect public concerns at the national level, including information about online safety research, the latest trends, media coverage of online safety-related issues, and any new legislation. It is important to capture this information from across the network in a timely manner in order to have an understanding of the current landscape in Europe.

The group is expected to meet two or three times over the next six months to determine the best way forward.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Karl by close of business on Monday, 13 May 2024.

Short-term Media Literacy Campaign Working Group 
As you may know, within BIK Phase 5, we are carrying out a media literacy awareness-raising campaign in collaboration with the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs). Such a media literacy campaign needs to build on the networking resources available in the SICs while also building synergies and creating opportunities for collaboration across the network. We first pilot tested an approach in March-April 2024 in a restricted number of European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland), and now plan to gradually scale the campaign at an EU-wide level. Therefore a short-term Media Literacy Working Group (MLWG) will now be established, which will provide a dedicated space for SIC members to contribute their insights and perspectives in rolling out a full-scale, EU-wide media literacy campaign going forward.   

As members of the short-term MLWG, SIC members will have the opportunity to contribute to the development and co-creation of the awareness-raising campaign, from its concept to its delivery, in collaboration with the network. The group will also provide a unique opportunity for exchanging views and sharing best practices on the topic of media literacy, highlighting events and initiatives at the national level all across Europe.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Annarita by close of business on Monday, 13 May 2024.

Many thanks to those who attended the helpline early warning group meeting last week. A summary of the discussions and a link to the recording is available from the BIK community (login first). For further information, please contact Karl.

Many thanks to those people who attended the online meeting which focused on the good practice guide on creating, testing and evaluating evidence-based awareness campaigns and in particular to Michel Walrave, Jane McGarrigle and Andreea Hurezeanu for their presentations. A recording of the meeting and copies of the presentations are all available from the BIK community (login first).

Read or download the good practice guide here.

Following the meeting, four supplementary protocols have been published, providing annexes to the good practice guide. View them here:

• Protocol 1: Choosing effective campaigning and intervention methods: a quick guide
• Protocol 2: Involving children and young people in online safety campaigns
• Protocol 3: How to measure the success and efficacy of a campaign or intervention
• Protocol 4: Suggestions on types of communication materials to be produced for specific target audiences

In case of questions, please contact Valentina.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

On Wednesday, 8 May 2024, the Forum, funded by the European Commission under Project CPORT, will bring together stakeholders to share knowledge and experience, learn about the latest developments in child online safety, and discuss what each of us can do to optimise the joint fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Join INHOPE to learn about the next steps for the ICCAM eco-system and how to navigate through regulations ensuring correct information exchange.  This is an in-person event, taking place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the CPORT Forum here. 

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

The next Insafe training meeting will take place from Tuesday, 15 to Thursday, 17 October 2024, and will be an online meeting. Further information will be shared in the coming months. For information in the meantime, please contact Karl.

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on Virtual worlds and immersive realities on Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will explore virtual worlds and immersive realities. Some of the key developments in recent years revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) applications emerging in all sectors of society, such as leisure, health, and especially learning, training and education. Such technologies entail both great opportunities and concerning risks. How can teachers and educators be empowered with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the implications of immersive realities in educational settings? 

You can already register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner, or Webinar 2 on disinformation and fake news? Check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for recordings of previous webinars, and more information on future one. 

The "Make It Clear: Effective Media Education" international conference will take place in Warsaw on Tuesday, 28 May 2024.

The event brings together international experts from different areas of media education and internet safety, who will share their knowledge and experience related to developing young people's information literacy, an informed and critical approach to media content, and countering disinformation. Several presentations and debates will provide concrete tools and inspiration for use in everyday teaching practice.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format (onsite and online) in both Polish and English. You can register for onsite/online participation here. Please note that the deadline to register is Sunday, 26 May for in-person attendance, and Tuesday, 28 May for online participation.

This conference is organised within the framework of the Creative Europe Programme by a consortium consisting of NASK (Poland), the Latvian Internet Association, and Save the Children Romania.

The network is encouraged to disseminate this information further, and/or to participate in the conference. For any additional queries, please contact mic@nask.pl.

• Young people and algorithms (SIC DK)
• In the spotlight: Safer Internet Centres Austria and Malta
• Parents' perception of their children's internet usage  (SIC RO)
• World Press Freedom Day/Difference Day 2024
• Understanding sexting and empowering youth through parental guidance (SIC RO)

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox.

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline case studies

• Sharing nudes without consent (SIC FR)

Awareness community of practice

• Blackout/choking challenge on TikTok (SIC DE)

Helpline community of practice

• Early warning group - report from meeting on 23 April 2024

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• TeamLit online course "Making education more media literate". The course helps all teachers become media literate and to bring media literacy into the classrooms. Module four was just released, focusing on how to interest fellow educators and colleagues in media literacy matters.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids

Following on from recent discussions at the training meeting and Insafe Steering Committee meeting, we are convening two new short-term working groups in the framework of the BIK Phase 5 project:

Short-term Public Concerns Working Group
We are looking for people to join a short-term Public Concerns Working Group (PCWG) to discuss how best to collect public concerns at the national level, including information about online safety research, the latest trends, media coverage of online safety-related issues, and any new legislation. It is important to capture this information from across the network in a timely manner in order to have an understanding of the current landscape in Europe.

The group is expected to meet two or three times over the next six months to determine the best way forward.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Karl by close of business on Monday, 13 May 2024.

Short-term Media Literacy Campaign Working Group 
As you may know, within BIK Phase 5, we are carrying out a media literacy awareness-raising campaign in collaboration with the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs). Such a media literacy campaign needs to build on the networking resources available in the SICs while also building synergies and creating opportunities for collaboration across the network. We first pilot tested an approach in March-April 2024 in a restricted number of European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland), and now plan to gradually scale the campaign at an EU-wide level. Therefore a short-term Media Literacy Working Group (MLWG) will now be established, which will provide a dedicated space for SIC members to contribute their insights and perspectives in rolling out a full-scale, EU-wide media literacy campaign going forward.   

As members of the short-term MLWG, SIC members will have the opportunity to contribute to the development and co-creation of the awareness-raising campaign, from its concept to its delivery, in collaboration with the network. The group will also provide a unique opportunity for exchanging views and sharing best practices on the topic of media literacy, highlighting events and initiatives at the national level all across Europe.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Annarita by close of business on Monday, 13 May 2024.

A new study, commissioned under the BIK+ strategy, explores age assurance, including age verification tools, in today's digital landscape. The study, titled Mapping age assurance typologies and requirements, outlines the legal and practical aspects of age assurance, detailing its necessity, methods, and associated challenges. Age assurance refers to the methods used to determine an individual's age with different levels of confidence or certainty. They can be grouped into three main categories: age estimation, age verification, and self-declaration. Digital service providers bear the primary responsibility for ensuring proportionate age assurance.

Read more on the European Commission website.

The full research report can be read or downloaded from the Publications Office of the European Union website; executive summaries are also available in English and French.

Democracy is about making sure that everyone’s voice counts and is heard when governments make decisions. For democracy to work, there should be free and open discussions based on true information. For children and teenagers, this means that they have the right to express their views and opinions on matters that affect them.

Participation can mean different things: for example, voting is an important aspect of participation, but it could also be answering a survey, signing a petition or going to a meeting. Participation could also be taking action to improve schools, better street lighting, raising awareness about mental health, or taking climate change action.

The EU Children's Participation Platform is currently running a democracy survey. Aimed at young people who are EU citizens or living in an EU country and aged 17 or younger, the survey aims to gather youth views on democratic participation, what young people think works well, what type of changes are needed, and to gather personal experiences. The survey is available in all official languages of the EU; the deadline for responses is Tuesday, 30 April 2024.

Further information can also be found in the newsletter of the EU Children’s Participation Platform: Democracy and you! (March 2024).

Safer Internet Centres are encouraged to disseminate the information through their own networks and contacts.

A final reminder that we would be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete the short evaluation survey which will help us to plan for future meetings. A reminder also that you can find copies of the presentations from the meeting in the BIK community (login first).

If you have any questions or need any further information about any aspect of the training meeting, please contact Karl.

The next Insafe training meeting will take place from Tuesday, 15 to Thursday, 17 October 2024, and will be an online meeting. Further information will be shared in the coming months. For information in the meantime, please contact Karl.

Many thanks to those people who attended the online meeting which focused on the good practice guide on creating, testing and evaluating evidence-based awareness campaigns and in particular to Michel Walrave, Jane McGarrigle and Andreea Hurezeanu for their presentations. A recording of the meeting and copies of the presentations are all available from the BIK community (login first).

Read or download the good practice guide here.

Following the meeting, four supplementary protocols have been published, providing annexes to the good practice guide. View them here:

• Protocol 1: Choosing effective campaigning and intervention methods: a quick guide
• Protocol 2: Involving children and young people in online safety campaigns
• Protocol 3: How to measure the success and efficacy of a campaign or intervention
• Protocol 4: Suggestions on types of communication materials to be produced for specific target audiences

In case of questions, please contact Valentina.

Many thanks to those who attended the helpline early warning group meeting last week. A summary of the discussions and a link to the recording is available from the BIK community (login first). For further information, please contact Karl.

This event is funded by the European Commission as part of the Better Internet for Kids Programme under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL).

This focus group, taking place online on Tuesday, 30 April 2024 from 10:00 – 16:30 CEST, will explore the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the procedures and roles associated with becoming Trusted Flaggers under the Act. It will outline the new regulatory requirements and provide a platform for experience sharing on the trusted flagger application process and the collaboration status between industry, Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs), and the INHOPE/Insafe networks. Find out more on the INHOPE website.

This meeting is intended for INHOPE hotlines and Insafe helplines interested in applying for trusted flagger status, as well as industry operating in the EU and national Digital Services Coordinators.

Please note: the deadline for registrations has now passed.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

On Wednesday, 8 May 2024, the Forum, funded by the European Commission under Project CPORT, will bring together stakeholders to share knowledge and experience, learn about the latest developments in child online safety, and discuss what each of us can do to optimise the joint fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Join INHOPE to learn about the next steps for the ICCAM eco-system and how to navigate through regulations ensuring correct information exchange.  This is an in-person event, taking place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the CPORT Forum here. 

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

As you may know, we wish to develop a new mascot for the annual Safer Internet Day (SID) campaign, ideally with a lifespan of several years. EUN is currently appointing an external design agency to support with this task, but there is one essential condition – the design must be youth-led.

As such, we are looking to convene a youth focus group of approximately 10-15 young people from across the EU to support this task. The youth focus group will meet with the design agency online over a series of meetings to help define an initial brief and then work iteratively with the agency to comment on concepts and drafts until a final design is achieved. We hope that this will be a short and decisive process, ideally taking a maximum of one month from the point of the first youth focus group meeting to the finalisation of a design. While we can not yet give an exact starting date, we expect this work to take place during May and June 2024. Due to the educational commitments of many of our youth representatives, we would anticipate short online meetings needing to take place in an early evening timeslot. To mitigate any safeguarding concerns, staff representatives from EUN/Better Internet for Kids (BIK) will facilitate all contact with the youth group and will be present in all online meetings.

In terms of criteria for joining the youth focus group, young participants should be enthusiastic and available to commit to this task (although we recognise that it might not be possible to attend every single meeting, participants should aim to provide feedback in alternative forms if possible). The meetings and any associated activities will be conducted in English.

We request that youth coordinators share this information with their youth panellists. Initial expressions of interest should be sent by email to Chiara and Sabrina by the close of business tomorrow - Tuesday, 30 April 2024.

Any questions regarding the SID mascot redevelopment, more generally, should be addressed to the SID Helpdesk mailbox.

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on Disinformation and fake news this Thursday, 2 May 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will address mis- and disinformation, fake news, deepfakes and conspiracy theories. In particular, disinformation is surrounded by increasing concern as it has been identified as a concrete threat to democracy. With the European elections coming up in June 2024, this topic is now more relevant than ever. How can teachers and educators support their pupils in the classroom, especially if they are first-time voters?

You can already register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner? If so, you can watch the recording here. 

More generally, check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for more information on upcoming webinars. 

• Safe and Healthy Online Practices awareness campaign (SIC PT)
• BIK Youth Ambassador Joana at the European Youth Week kick-off event (BIK Youth Ambassador)
• European Youth Week 2024: reflections from BIK Youth Ambassador Diya (BIK Youth Ambassador)
• Celebrating progress: empowering Media Literacy Week in Finland with positive feedback (SIC FI)
• Happy International Girls in ICT Day 2024

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox.

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline case studies

• Telegram deepnude bot (SIC DE)

Awareness community of practice

• Creating, testing and evaluating evidence-based awareness campaigns
• Greek national survey on 4,800 teenagers about "Online Violence" (SIC GR)
• Age limit (SIC DE)
• Sharenting (SIC DE)

Helpline community of practice

• Early warning group - report from meeting on 23 April 2024

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids

It was good to see so many of you in Warsaw last week for the Insafe-INHOPE joint training meeting. Many thanks for all of your interaction and participation; we hope that you found the meeting useful. Thanks also to our Polish colleagues for being such great hosts.

You can find copies of the presentations from the meeting in the BIK community (login first).

We would also be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete the short evaluation survey which will help us to plan for future meetings.

If you have any questions or need any further information about any aspect of the training meeting, please contact Karl.

Denton Howard and Hans Martens received special commemorative plaques from NASK National Research Institute, on behalf of INHOPE and Insafe respectively, at the joint training meeting in Poland.

The winner of the April 2024 resource competition - chosen during the joint Insafe-INHOPE Training meeting last week - is the French Safer Internet Centre with the game Stop online violence - congratulations!

Congratulations also go to the German and Irish Safer Internet Centres for making it to the top three most popular resources, and thanks to everyone who tool part.

In case of queries regarding any aspect of the resource competition, please contact Annarita.

A new study, commissioned under the BIK+ strategy, explores age assurance, including age verification tools, in today's digital landscape. The study, titled Mapping age assurance typologies and requirements, outlines the legal and practical aspects of age assurance, detailing its necessity, methods, and associated challenges. Age assurance refers to the methods used to determine an individual's age with different levels of confidence or certainty. They can be grouped into three main categories: age estimation, age verification, and self-declaration. Digital service providers bear the primary responsibility for ensuring proportionate age assurance.

Read more on the European Commission website.

The full research report can be read or downloaded from the Publications Office of the European Union website; executive summaries are also available in English and French.

Democracy is about making sure that everyone’s voice counts and is heard when governments make decisions. For democracy to work, there should be free and open discussions based on true information. For children and teenagers, this means that they have the right to express their views and opinions on matters that affect them.

Participation can mean different things: for example, voting is an important aspect of participation, but it could also be answering a survey, signing a petition or going to a meeting. Participation could also be taking action to improve schools, better street lighting, raising awareness about mental health, or taking climate change action.

The EU Children's Participation Platform is currently running a democracy survey. Aimed at young people who are EU citizens or living in an EU country and aged 17 or younger, the survey aims to gather youth views on democratic participation, what young people think works well, what type of changes are needed, and to gather personal experiences. The survey is available in all official languages of the EU; the deadline for responses has been extended until the end of April 2024.

Further information can also be found in the newsletter of the EU Children’s Participation Platform: Democracy and you! (March 2024).

Safer Internet Centres are encouraged to disseminate the information through their own networks and contacts.

The next meeting of the helpline early warning group will take place on Tuesday, 23 April 2024 at 11:00 CEST. Use this link to join the meeting; for further information, please contact Karl.

The next online meeting for youth coordinators will take place on Wednesday, 24 April 2024 at 11:00 CEST. During this meeting, Helderyse Rendall and Dominika Knoblochová from Tactical Tech will present the What the future wants approach to critical digital literacy for youth, particularly highlighting its exhibition format and its work with partners. For this session, they will also focus on the new Everywhere, all the time resource and how it can support peer-to-peer and intergenerational conversations on the impact of digital technologies on individuals and communities.  Access the meeting using this link; for further information, please contact Eray.

This new good practice guide focuses on how Safer Internet Centres (SICs), European Consumer Centres (ECCs), and other organisations concerned with children’s and young people’s safer internet use can create, pilot-test, and evaluate their online safety interventions and campaigns in an evidence-based manner. The guide was developed based on a brief survey conducted last year to determine the extent to which SICs, and particularly their awareness centres, already adopt evidence-based practices - thanks again to all who responded.

SICs sometimes have limited resources and time for preparing and pre-testing communication campaigns and conducting impact research. Therefore, this guide offers a practical step-by-step approach so they can create more evidence-based outputs on their own or in collaboration with partners. This guide is created in a modular way to allow readers to pick and choose from a range of practical guidance and insightful resources that match their existing expertise and associated additional information needs. It consists of several sections, starting with a literature review that explores and defines the term ‘evidence-based’ and how it can be implicated in developing campaigns and interventions. In addition, it outlines various models and techniques for developing evidence-based practices. These are then discussed in more depth, followed by the outline of a step-by-step approach based on the Intervention Mapping Protocol (IMP). Finally, a conclusion summarises the key insights.
 
In addition, the guide contains various key terms, which are explained throughout and drawn together in the form of a lexicon annex. To provide more depth to specific sections, ‘info boxes’ can be found throughout the guide which discuss theories, techniques, and concrete examples more extensively.

Read or download the good practice guide here. In case of questions regarding this guide, please contact Valentina.

To help SIC colleagues explore and use the good practice guide further, an online meeting will take place this Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 11:00 CEST (with an anticipated finish time of 12:30 CEST). During the meeting, the author of the guide, Michel Walrave, PhD, Professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Communication Studies), will give further insights into the value of evidence-based campaigning. Use this link to join. 

This event is funded by the European Commission as part of the Better Internet for Kids Programme under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL).

This focus group, taking place online on Tuesday, 30 April 2024 from 10:00 – 16:30 CEST, will explore the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the procedures and roles associated with becoming Trusted Flaggers under the Act. It will outline the new regulatory requirements and provide a platform for experience sharing on the trusted flagger application process and the collaboration status between industry, Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs), and the INHOPE/Insafe networks. Find out more and register to attend on the INHOPE website.

This meeting is intended for INHOPE hotlines and Insafe helplines interested in applying for trusted flagger status, as well as industry operating in the EU and national Digital Services Coordinators.

Please note: all registrations are subject to approval. Registrations close on Wednesday, 24 April 2024 at 17:00 CEST.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

On Wednesday, 8 May 2024, the Forum, funded by the European Commission under Project CPORT, will bring together stakeholders to share knowledge and experience, learn about the latest developments in child online safety, and discuss what each of us can do to optimise the joint fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Join INHOPE to learn about the next steps for the ICCAM eco-system and how to navigate through regulations ensuring correct information exchange.  This is an in-person event, taking place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the CPORT Forum here. 

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

As you may know, we wish to develop a new mascot for the annual Safer Internet Day (SID) campaign, ideally with a lifespan of several years. EUN is currently appointing an external design agency to support with this task, but there is one essential condition – the design must be youth-led.

As such, we are looking to convene a youth focus group of approximately 10-15 young people from across the EU to support this task. The youth focus group will meet with the design agency online over a series of meetings to help define an initial brief and then work iteratively with the agency to comment on concepts and drafts until a final design is achieved. We hope that this will be a short and decisive process, ideally taking a maximum of one month from the point of the first youth focus group meeting to the finalisation of a design. While we can not yet give an exact starting date, we expect this work to take place during May and June 2024. Due to the educational commitments of many of our youth representatives, we would anticipate short online meetings needing to take place in an early evening timeslot. To mitigate any safeguarding concerns, staff representatives from EUN/Better Internet for Kids (BIK) will facilitate all contact with the youth group and will be present in all online meetings.

In terms of criteria for joining the youth focus group, young participants should be enthusiastic and available to commit to this task (although we recognise that it might not be possible to attend every single meeting, participants should aim to provide feedback in alternative forms if possible). The meetings and any associated activities will be conducted in English.

We request that youth coordinators share this information with their youth panellists. Initial expressions of interest should be sent by email to Chiara and Sabrina by the close of business on Tuesday, 30 April 2024.

Any questions regarding the SID mascot redevelopment, more generally, should be addressed to the SID Helpdesk mailbox.

This year, the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will take place from 15-19 December 2024 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As in previous years, Insafe is planning to submit a set of session proposals to run at the event, in addition to hosting a promotional booth to promote SID activities, among other activities. As the submission deadline for session proposals is 30 April 2024 (23:59 UTC), we invite colleagues to let us know by the close of business today - Monday, 22 April 2024 if you are interested in supporting the proposal writing and willing to join this year’s Insafe delegation at the IGF. The Insafe Coordination Team is able to support the efforts of the Insafe delegation with a fixed lump sum that will be equally divided among the delegation (EU co-funded SICs only). Please contact Sabrina with any further questions or expressions of interest. 

Launched on Safer Internet Day 2024, the AdWiseOnline campaign on child and youth consumer protection in digital environments aims to raise awareness about manipulative digital marketing practices. The main objective of the campaign is to enhance young people's understanding of digital marketing and online advertising, and empower them with knowledge about their online rights as young consumers. 

Within this campaign, we are producing awareness-raising materials that are designed to simplify the complex terminology of digital marketing and the legal framework of consumer rights. These materials provide young people with a clear understanding of their rights, ensuring that they are equipped to navigate the digital world responsibly and safely.  

Visit the AdWiseOnline campaign page to find: 

• AdWiseOnline guide to outsmarting unwanted ads and marketing traps.
• AdWiseOnline video that was designed for young people to spot subtle marketing traps.
• The research report on manipulative marketing practice in digital environments.

Read more about the hidden costs of platforms and responsibilities of companies and content creators in the recently published article on the BIK portal.  

In case of any questions about the AdWiseOnline campaign or suggestions and ideas for collaboration, please contact Inna.

Please note: This first edition of the campaign is an internal pilot being rolled out in cooperation with a subset of Safer Internet Centres and European Consumer Centres (ECCs), in collaboration with a campaign Task Force, and will run until the end of April 2024. Following evaluation, it will be scaled for fuller rollout in 2025, but SICs are already invited to use and disseminate the campaign's resources and messages. 

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on Disinformation and fake news on Thursday, 2 May 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will address mis- and disinformation, fake news, deepfakes and conspiracy theories. In particular, disinformation is surrounded by increasing concern as it has been identified as a concrete threat to democracy. With the European elections coming up in June 2024, this topic is now more relevant than ever. How can teachers and educators support their pupils in the classroom, especially if they are first-time voters?

You can already register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner? If so, you can watch the recording here. 

More generally, check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for more information on upcoming webinars. 

• New European Commission report explores age assurance
• The Insafe and INHOPE networks meet to facilitate the sharing of experiences and good practice
• Safer Internet Day 2024: the importance of online safety (SIC PT)

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox.

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline case studies

• A minor's identity was impersonated to sell sexual content of her (SIC ES)

Awareness community of practice

• Colleagues from the Romanian Safer Internet Centre have made various posts to the awareness community of practice in the past week.

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids