Better Internet for Kids

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is responsible for the preparation of the legislation on child welfare and for the general steering of child welfare services. The Child Welfare Act safeguards children’s rights and provisions on child welfare are laid down in the Child Welfare Act. Provisions on the rights of children are laid down in the Constitution of Finland. Furthermore, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are also binding on Finland.

The French President inaugurated the Children Online Protection Lab in November 2022 following the launch of the Call to stand up for children’s rights in the digital environment and the Declaration on the rights of the child in the digital environment adopted in March 2022. This international initiative aims to bring together governments, tech companies, academic experts and civil society actors to share expertise and best practices and test innovative solutions to protect children online more effectively.

This policy framework sets a plan for children in Malta by expanding children’s rights and guaranteeing the best interests of the child. Based on four priorities, the policy aims to promote a safer digital space and child participation. A feedback section is available for children to submit their ideas. A public consultation on the framework was launched in 2023. 
(Source: https://socialsecurity.gov.mt/).

Commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, together with Waag technology & society, the Centre for Law and Digital Technologies (eLaw) of Leiden University has produced the code after consulting with children, designers, tech developers and other experts.  The Code for Children's Rights enshrines ten principles to guide developers and designers when developing digital services for children. The code builds on laws and regulations to ensure that the design process prioritises the best interests of the child, transparency and privacy.

In Austria - as in almost all European countries - there is a dual system for the restriction of advertising, consisting, on the one hand, of legal regulations and, on the other hand, of self-restriction guidelines. The code of ethics of the advertising industry represents a core part of the Austrian system for the protection of consumers against the misuse of advertising. Self-disciplinary mechanisms of the advertising industry serve to monitor and correct aberrations and undesirable developments in advance of and at the margins of the legal provisions.

The Strategy covers laws and other actions to fight child sexual abuse both online and offline. It covers stopping this crime from happening in the first place, helping its victims access comprehensive assistance and supporting law enforcement. A new centre will coordinate these different strands.

The purpose of this Directive is to provide a comprehensive framework to effectively prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence throughout the Union. It does so by strengthening and introducing measures in relation to the following areas: the definition of relevant criminal offences and penalties, the protection of victims and access to justice, victim support, enhanced data collection, prevention, coordination and cooperation.

This Code of Conduct sets guidelines for the protection of minors in audiovisual media, including provisions for video-sharing platform providers.
(Source: Website)

Entities responsible for implementation:
Association for the Self-regulation of Audiovisual Media Offerings for the Protection of Minors/Verein zur Selbstkontrolle audiovisueller Medienangebote zum Schutz von Minderjährigen

The Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) is an independent agency focused on communication and media regulation. It is a member of the Safer Internet Centre, providing an internet hotline addressing pornography, sexual exploitation of children, CSAM, cyberbullying, and violence. Moreover, it includes information on content filtering tools to restrict access to and protect children from harmful content.
(Source: Website).

The Content Creator Protocol (CPP) addresses content creators, digital influencers, and vloggers based in the Flanders region who provide audiovisual services. It provides principles for publication respecting transparency on digital media, including guidelines for commercial content and communication for minors and prohibition of violent content and hate speech.