COFACE Families Europe – October 2018 newsletter now published

COFACE-Families Europe has recently published the October edition of its newsletter.

Date 2018-11-07 Author COFACE
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Fundamental Rights Forum: protecting children's privacy online
This edition deals with the 2018 edition of the Fundamental Rights Forum, organised by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on 25, 26 and 27 September 2018. COFACE-Families Europe spoke at one of the workshops on children's privacy online, hosted by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), putting forward the following three key messages:

  • "The kids are alright". Even though there are reasons to be worried when children go online, they turn out to be, overall, rather knowledgeable and aware of the challenges they might encounter, and how to tackle them.
  • Living a balanced life is key for both teenagers (to prevent screen time addiction) and parents (in terms of work-life balance).
  • Trust and transparency between parents and children is fundamental, so that there can be an open exchange and dialogue between them.

COFACE-Families Europe then submitted the three following recommendations to policy makers and FRA:

  • Further pursue the principle of data portability to achieve a full disconnect between online services and hosting of personal data.
  • Encourage the emergence of alternative business models respecting the privacy of their users.
  • Put pressure on online service providers to enable users to exercise more control over the services they use, or over the content they see.

For more information, read COFACE Families Europe's article on the matter, or visit the official website of the Fundamental Rights Forum.

Audio Visual Media Services Directive approved
Another interesting point mentioned in this monthly newsletter is that of the Audio Visual Media Services Directive (AMVSD), which was adopted on 2 October 2018 by Members of the European Parliament. After it is approved by the Council of Ministers, Member States will have 21 months to transpose in into their national laws.

COFACE Families Europe has contributed to this piece of legislation and pushed for several measures aiming at better protecting children online, particularly to protect children from online advertising and marketing. Regarding harmful content, the organisation insisted on the necessity that internet service providers (ISPs) implement in practice their own terms of service and community standards, given the discrepancy between the written rules and the ISP's actual propensity to identify harmful content and take it down.

This directive is taking a number of positive steps, such as the extension of audio visual rules to video-sharing platforms, or the promotion of European works (on-demand catalogues will have to propose at least 30 per cent of European content).

For more information, read COFACE Families Europe's article, or visit the official page of the EU Commission on the AVMSD.

Read the full October 2018 edition of the COFACE newsletter for a whole host of other updates on issues affecting families in Europe.

* COFACE Families Europe has been involved for 60 years in building a strong social, family-friendly Europe. It brings forward the voice of millions of families, gathering 58 organisations from all over Europe. COFACE Families Europe advocates for strong social policies that take into consideration family needs and guarantee equal opportunities for all families. Find out more at www.coface-eu.org.

 

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