Brussels, 08/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - On the 2011 Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 8 February, the European Commission announced that it was to step up discussions with the information and communication technologies sector (ICT) and children's organisations to promote the design of safer products, making it easier to protect children online. The Commission also indicated that it was to carry out an examination of the 2006 recommendations on protecting minors in the audiovisual media and the internet, and of the 2008 communication on the protection of young people from harmful videogames content. “It is hard for parents to constantly monitor the safety of their children online (…). This makes for a heavier burden of responsibility on the ICT sector, as regards providing products and services which protect children and give them a sense of responsibility”, said Commissioner Neelie Kroes, who is responsible for the digital strategy. For her part, Commissioner Viviane Reding, who oversees the Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship dossier, took the opportunity to call for better protection of private data, particularly by a European level harmonisation of the “right to be forgotten”. This is the right for citizens to be able easily to remove data or photographs of a private nature which they may have posted on the internet and wish to remove. “The 'right to be forgotten' is particularly important in the online environment and social networking. I want this concept to form part of the data protection rules to further reinforce citizens' rights”, said Reding. Safer Internet Day, which is organised by INSAFE, the network of awareness centres, receives aid of €55 million from the European Union. The event has been celebrated every year since 2004 and sees events held in more than 65 countries in Europe and the world.
Given developments in the way people use technology, the Commission will work with new activity groups and sectors to improve the protection of children on the internet. Producers of portable devices and games consoles, internet service providers, social networking sites, providers of applications and content for the mobile network, consumer organisations, researchers and children's organisations will be invited to join the cooperation platform. Dialogue will be based on issues drawn from the “Principles of the EU for safer social networks” and the "European framework for the safe use of mobile telephones by adolescents and children". A recent Europe-wide survey shows that children are using the internet more and in an increasingly personalised way. In parallel, 59% of children in the 9-16 age bracket have a social networking profile and in 26% of cases, their profile is fully public. Safer Internet Day aims to remind young people that everything they do or say on the internet can have dramatic consequences on their “real” life, even if they use a false name. In a speech to Belgium's Safer Internet Centre, Commissioner Kroes welcomed the cooperation of the mobile operators and social networking companies to raise greater awareness among young people of the dangers of the internet, particularly by making sure that only “friends” can view their profile by default. Whilst internet operators have pledged to offer online help to respond to young users' expectations (wanting to change or remove their profile, for example), the commissioner announced that she was to publish a report on this cooperation in the spring. (I.L./transl.fl)