European Commission – New measures to keep children safe online

On Tuesday, 5 February 2019, on the occasion of Safer Internet Day (SID), the European Commission announced the next steps in the EU to increase the protection of children and young people on the internet.

Date 2019-02-07 Author BIK Team Section awareness, industry

Expert Group on Safer Internet for Children

A landmark measure will be the creation, in March 2019, of a new Expert Group on Safer Internet for Children. It will be tasked with proposing concrete actions to keep children safe online, and improving coordination and cooperation between EU Member States (with the addition of Iceland and Norway). This will therefore enable an efficient sharing of best practice on how to implement some of the specific provisions concerning minors in key existing legal acts, such as the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The first meeting of this body is scheduled for Wednesday, 6 March 2019 in Brussels.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, said: "I am pleased to announce the creation of the expert group today, on Safer Internet Day 2019. On this day, we focus more than ever on ways to enhance safe, positive and inclusive use of digital technology, especially among children and young people. This year's slogan, ‘Together for a Better Internet', is a timely reminder that no one country or organisation can act effectively on its own when it comes to internet safety. The coordination and cooperation between Member States is just as important in that regard as the valuable work it will do on proposing concrete actions."

For additional information regarding the Expert Group on Safer Internet for Children, visit the European Commission's website.

The Alliance to better protect minors online, two years on

The Alliance to better protect minors online, a self-regulatory platform composed of almost 40 key players from industry and civil society, was launched on Safer Internet Day 2017 and therefore celebrated two years of activity on SID 2019. On the occasion, an independent study was released, analysing the work of the Alliance so far in a very positive light, since most stakeholders involved have successfully met their commitments.

For further information on the Alliance to better protect minors online, visit the European Commission's website and browse through the comprehensive study assessing its work.

#SaferInternet4EU, looking back on 2018... and forward to 2019

The #SaferInternet4EU campaign on online safety, media literacy and cyber hygiene was launched on Safer Internet Day 2018 and therefore celebrates its first year of successful activities. Nearly 30 millions EU citizens have been reached by the campaign so far.

For more information, please see the infographic summarising the impact of the #SaferInternet4EU campaign to date.

To learn more, have a look at the factsheet on Safer Internet for the EU and browse through the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) and #SaferInternet4EU annual report.

The campaign will be continuing into 2019 – keep checking the #SaferInternet4EU corner on the BIK website for the latest updates.

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