Policy frameworks
Portugal has addressed the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children (BIK) through a range of national public policies that directly address BIK-related issues. Key policy frameworks include Media Education Guidance for Preschool Education, Basic Education and Secondary Education published by the Ministry of Education and Science in 2014, and the Curricular Plan for the subject Information and Communication Technologies - 7th and 8th grade. Relevant national legislation dealing with, among other aspects, the Lanzarote Convention of the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is summarised in the publication "You are the Internet" (Tu E A Internet).
Policy design
Policy design is distributed across four to six ministries. Policy design is led at ministerial level across all pillars of BIK strategy with a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or agreement in place between responsible ministries and agencies. The Safer Internet Centre (SIC) is a consortium of public and private entities, coordinated by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), and includes the Directorate General of Education (SeguraNet); Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth; PT Foundation, and Microsoft Portugal. The SIC has a monitoring board which meets twice a year to provide the Consortium with a better knowledge on the topic of internet safety through participation and collaboration of experts and stakeholders. The monitoring board includes includes regulators, industry, NGOs, academia, government, and associations. There is no regular national data collection in the country though a series of national studies have been undertaken including Net Children Go Mobile and EU Kids Online.
Policy actors
Government and public agencies are the lead actors in the carrying out of activities related to each pillar of BIK. Several partnerships have been developed with various institutions aiming at promoting digital citizenship with participation from RTP (public television channel); Teachers association of computer science (ANPRI); Teachers librarian network; National reading plan program; Security forces (Polícia Judiciária); and the Institute of Child Support (Instituto de Apoio à Criança). The ICT Competence Centres, part of a physical network composed of nine institutions, cooperate with SeguraNet nationwide and help disseminate SeguraNet's online publications and cooperate in awareness actions, thus extending the reach of SeguraNet's actions. The SeguraNet team also collaborates with the Media Literacy Working Group with the aim of developing a series of activities and issues concerning school media on safety and media risks.
Breadth of activities
Breadth of activities outlines progress made in Member States delivering initiatives at the national level. Using the full range of recommendations contained in the BIK strategy, the following tables highlight which actions are supported and whether they have increased, stayed the same or decreased in prominence in the last three years for each of the BIK pillars.