As part of the wider Better Internet for Kids project, we regularly liaise with the providers of online services to provide feedback on new apps and services, and real-life insight into some of the challenges which children and young people face online when using such products, as communicated through our network of helplines and the like. Equally, we welcome information on the steps being taken by industry to help to keep users safe online. We recently heard from Yellow on their approach.

Childnet, part of the UK Safer Internet Centre (SIC), is teaming up with Facebook and the Diana Award to deliver a project that will see thousands of young people across the UK trained as peer educators.

On 6 October 2017, a group of 150 experts from various disciplines and organisations around the world presented "The Declaration of Rome" to Pope Francis at the Vatican, pledging to protect children and young people in the digital age. Here, Jacqueline Beauchere, Microsoft Chief Online Safety Officer, shares her experiences from the event.

In this blog, Catherine Russell, Corporate Social Responsibility Lead at Vodafone UK, talks about the challenges parents face in keeping their children safe online, and the importance of helping young people to develop critical thinking skills and digital resilience. Catherine also introduces the latest edition of Vodafone UK's annual Digital Parenting magazine, providing a whole host of practical help and advice for parents, not just in the UK, but across Europe and beyond too.

"Never let truth get in the way of a good story" said Mark Twain in a century where digital devices existed only in the realm of science fiction. More recently, when dealing with the ever-increasing phenomenon of fake news, European policy-makers have drawn on another literary reference: "No one wants a Ministry of Truth", stated MEP Marietje Schaake referencing George Orwell's futuristic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. This analogy has been further used by Vice-President Andrus Ansip who also explained that the European Commission does not seek for a Ministry of Truth either.

Young people in Bulgaria recently asked Facebook to collect less personal data from users. The teens also proposed that Facebook, the most popular social media platform in Bulgaria, think about minimising the scope of friends' search.

Online safety experts from 10 countries recently participated in a regional meeting with Facebook managers. Taking place in Sofia, Bulgaria on 24 March 2017, representatives came from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia and Serbia, with the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) acting as host. Gabriella Cseh, Head of Public Policy for Central and Eastern Europe for Facebook, opened the meeting. She thanked the Bulgarian SIC for its long-term cooperation and its assistance in organising the international event.

We recently reported on the EC-brokered "Alliance to Better Protect Minors Online", which met on Safer Internet Day to launch its statement of purpose. Emilia from Germany attended the event as an Insafe Youth Ambassador. Here she shares her experiences from the day.

Here on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal, we're always pleased to hear from different stakeholders on how they contribute to a better and safer internet for children and young people in their own areas of work and activities.

Following Safer Internet Day 2017, we've heard from a number of SID Supporters on how they marked the day. Here, Silja Nielsen, Head of Community and Safety at Momio, comments on their actions for a better internet.