VOX-Pol coordinator Dr Maura Conway attended the 7th European Forum of the Family Online Safety Institute in Brussels on May 12 at the invitation of FOSI. The event, which focused on European perspectives on child online safety, was held in Brussels with the support of Google, Twitter, Facebook and Orange.
Keynote speaker, UNICEF’s Child Protection Specialist Jasmina Byrne, highlighted the importance of children’s digital rights. She discussed the many challenges they face throughout the developing world including lack of access to the Internet, parents who lack sufficient skills and knowledge of online risks, and associated challenges.
The event also included a panel, Safety by Design, where participants from Orange, Twitter, Facebook and EU Kids Online discussed ways in which their companies think about safety and privacy in their processes of product creation, and how they respond to feedback from users.
While the European approach to online safety and privacy remained the main theme of the event, most of the discussions were also placed within a global context, considering the challenges and risks to children’s digital experiences throughout the world.
Attendees from the online child safety community, including those from national internet safety centres, said during informal discussions that they’re increasingly contacted by parents, teachers, and others working with children with concerns regarding online radicalisation, online hate, violent online extremism, and related; areas in which they have relatively little experience or knowledge of to-date.
Image: ITU News