Child safety on the Internet

Main article: Internet security

2024

Self-registration in social networks should be available only from the age of 14

The Center for Legal Assistance to Citizens in the Digital Environment believes that the rules for registration in social networks and on gaming platforms need to be changed. So, users should independently register on such sites only when they reach the age of 14, the director of the Center Lyudmila Kurovskaya said in an interview with TASS. This was announced on June 18, 2024 by the press service of the State Duma deputy RFAnton Nemkin.

And for children under 14 years old, provide for the consent of legal representatives to register on social networks, the expert suggested.

Online, minors can face multiple threats. One is online grooming. The scheme is based on the fact that attackers anonymously on the network involve a child in a relationship of trust, in order to then criminally exploit him.

The platforms themselves should actively participate in controlling age restrictions on registration. For example, if it is established that the minor was able to bypass them, the account should be immediately blocked, Kurovskaya said. This will protect minors from another serious threat - cyberbullying, as it will reduce the possibility of anonymous persecution and bullying.

The State Duma supported the initiative of the Center for Legal Assistance to Citizens in the Digital Environment. Children and adolescents on the Internet can face a number of serious threats, and cyberbullying is one of the most significant among them, recalled Anton Nemkin. {{quote 'This is a form of bullying that is carried out through Internet platforms such as social networks, instant messengers and game chats. Cyberbullying can include abuse, threats, spreading false information and even blackmail. Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying can occur around the clock, which makes it especially dangerous for the mental health of a child, the deputy said. }}

Moreover, some attackers can use the Internet to sexually exploit children. They can try to gain a child's trust in order to then lure their personal details away from them or arrange a real-life appointment, which can lead to tragic consequences. This is online grooming, which is warned about at the Center for Legal Assistance to Citizens in the Digital Environment, - said Anton Nemkin.

Children can also accidentally install malicious software, which will then be used to steal data or spy. It is important to teach children the basics of cybersecurity and explain to them why you cannot trust strangers on the Internet and open suspicious links or files. Therefore, in general, I support the idea of ​ ​ introducing age restrictions for registration on online platforms - this will help parents control how their child spends their time on the network, - concluded Anton Nemkin.

Florida authorities banned children under the age of 14 from using social networks

On March 25, 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law prohibiting children under the age of 14 from using social media. This measure is designed to protect minors from possible negative influence on the Internet, bullying, etc. Read more here.

2023

Almost 100% of adolescents in the Russian Federation face digital threats

Almost all teenagers in Russia face digital threats online, but most prefer not to tell parents or teachers about it. This was announced on October 23, 2023 by the press service of the State Duma deputy RFAnton Nemkin.

According to the study, which was presented by the chairman of the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment Elizaveta Belyakova, 44% of the children surveyed note that they encounter illegal content on the network by chance. At the same time, a third also said that sometimes young people are looking for such information purposefully.

The five most common digital threats included fakes, fraud, gaming addiction, Internet addiction, cyberbullying. According to the teenagers surveyed, psychological threats prevail in the network, while their parents and teachers are confident that both psychological and technological threats are equally present in the network.

At the same time, children are in no hurry to contact their parents with this problem, every fifth said. One in three would also never turn to faculty. Among the reasons - "adults will not understand," "will scold" or "upset." Many are also afraid that the cyber incident that happened to them will be found out at school.

This study confirmed a digital divide between parents and children. They do not believe in adult awareness of risks and threats on the Internet. Therefore, in 2024, the Alliance will focus, among other things, on educational work by parents in order to acquaint them with technological solutions and legal foundations in the field of protecting children from digital threats, Belyakova said.

What to do about it? The answer is simple - to actively engage in education not only for a young, but also for an adult audience in terms of digital literacy. This can be done in an entertaining and unobtrusive form, so as not to overload people - with the help of shows and programs on TV and on the network, in the format of infographics and schemes, with humor. In addition, it is important to talk about new methods of fraud that appear on the network almost daily to a wide audience. And also together to look for ways to deal with these new ways, "the deputy added.

YouTube accused of child surveillance

American the video hosting YouTube was accused of spying on minors. According to experts from the analytical company Adalytics, the platform shows children targeted advertizing in violation of the American Child Privacy Protection Act (Internet COPPA). This was announced on August 22, 2023 by the press service of the deputy. State Duma of the Russian Federation Anton Nemkin More. here

France strengthens protection of children on the Internet

France has passed a law protecting children in the digital space. According to the law, social platforms such as TikTok are required to verify the age of their users and obtain parental consent to register those under the age of 15. This became known on July 4, 2023.

The updated legislation is part of a government strategy to reduce children's time behind screens and tackle cyberbullying and other online threats.

Despite the approval of the law in the Senate, the exact date of its entry into force remains unknown. In particular, the European Commission must check for compliance with the law with EU standards. After that, the sites will be given 1 year to adapt to the new rules for new subscribers and another 2 years to establish control over existing accounts.

Major concerns among lawmakers have been pornography, cyberstalking, idealized beauty standards and reliance on social platforms that pose a particular threat to teenagers.

According to the Commission on Technology and Freedom (CNIL), despite the theoretical restriction of access to social networks for people under 13 years old, some children are registered on platforms from 8 years old, and more than half of children aged 10-14 years actively use Snapchat and Instagram (recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia).

The law not only strengthens control over the age of users, but also provides parents with tools to manage their children's accounts. Social networks that violate these provisions will be exposed to penalties to up to 1% of their global income.

These measures are replacing a number of bills aimed at protecting children in the digital world, including from abuse of their images on social networks. It is also expected to consider a law on regulating access to porn sites and mandatory verification of the age of users^[1].

Russian President instructed to form a safe information environment for children

The President Russia Vladimir Putin instructed to the government the regional authorities to closely engage in the formation of a safe information environment for children - the corresponding decree has already been published on the legal portal. information This was reported on May 24, 2023 in the press service of the deputy. State Duma of the Russian Federation Anton Nemkin

In particular, Decree No. 358 "On the Strategy for the Integrated Safety of Children in the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2030" includes the tasks of creating a safe information environment for children. According to the decree, the media and the Internet form a negative moral and psychological atmosphere around children, which contributes to the growth of mental illness among them, destroys the established norms of morality, provokes illegal behavior and causes moral harm.

Attempts by unfriendly foreign states, as well as terrorist and extremist organizations, criminal communities to value disorientation of society, the formation in society of a feeling of uncertainty and instability, distortion of traditional spiritual and moral, including family, values ​ ​ negatively affect the quality of the environment in which the personality of the child develops, - the published document says.

The decree also formulates the main tasks that should be dealt with in the first place. Thus, it is necessary to identify, prevent and suppress threats to the information security of children, as well as to create information products that contribute to value, moral, spiritual, moral and personal development. In addition, the state plans to support the creation of films, television programs and books for children that solve the problems of preserving traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, culture, and control their quality. Work in this direction is underway: for example, the Institute for Internet Development (ANO "IRI") in the spring of 2022 announced the allocation of 3 billion rubles to support 81 projects for young people. According to the general director of the organization, Alexei Goreslavsky, special attention will be paid to creating content specifically for adolescents aged 12 to 15, since it is very difficult to find an approach to this audience, and so far new digital products for them practically do not appear.

It is also important to improve the mechanisms for identifying and preventing the dissemination of illegal content and to form in children the skills of independent, conscious and responsible use of information products, the decree emphasizes.

Our country was drawn into a large-scale cyber war, the formation of a clean and correctly built information space around children is one of the primary tasks, "says Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications. - We often talk in the media about new types of fraud on the network, about the illegal behavior of Western sites and other problems arising in the information space to show that thoughtless and aimless fermentation on the Internet without a critical assessment of the information received is simply impossible. For example, YouTube recently again proved unsuitable for use by the younger generation. Another study showed that the algorithm of recommendations of American video hosting offered videos about the modification of weapons and school shootings to accounts that imitated the online behavior of users of 9 and 14 years old. And such situations arise not only at YouTube, on foreign platforms it is found literally at every step. Therefore, the main goal of the authorities, the expert community, parents and teachers is not to let our children face these unacceptable materials. Even minimal traumatic experience can subsequently affect not only their private life, but also the state of our entire society and in the foreseeable future. The rules of behavior on the Internet, the purification of which from threats is so carefully monitored by the state, in fact, are very simple. The main thing is not to forget that you need to adhere to them in everyday life,

2022: Germany approves introduction of AI systems for age recognition by face for authorization in social networks

Three systems that test people's ages with artificial intelligence technology to prevent harmful content from affecting minors were approved on May 31, 2022, by the Juvenile Protection Commission.

This commission is Germany's central watchdog for the protection of minors on private nationwide television and online. These artificial intelligence systems, to which the commission gave a positive assessment, are trained using machine learning to estimate a person's age based on biometric characteristics.

Germany approves introduction of AI systems for age recognition by face for authorization on social networks so that children do not watch 18 + content

Шаблон:Quote 'The fact that AI can now be used to verify age and thus protect children and young people from problematic content is an important new step, commission chairman Mark Jan Youmann said in a May 24 press release. According to Youmann, the use of AI in this area is an important milestone in the technical protection of children and youth in the media. The watchdog praised three different artificial intelligence systems for age verification. It is a Facial age estimation program, as well as Age Verification and Yoti programs, which are considered as possible age verification systems. As a kind of safety mechanism for children who look older than their years, the child protection body has identified a five-year buffer.

Шаблон:Quote 'To access content rated 18 +, a person must be recognized by the system as at least 23 years old, the report said. Another control function provides that age verification cannot be simply circumvented using still images.

Automatic identification procedures are being developed in ongoing consultation with regulators and security authorities, said Rebecca Weiss, head of trust and security at digital association Bitkom.

Шаблон:Quote 'Digital identification has not only become much more effective through such procedures, but is less prone to errors than conventional identification with people,' Weiss said. According to Maximilian Funke-Kaiser, digital policy spokesman for the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) in the German Bundestag, it should not be forgotten that age verification and data processing provide data protection.

Responsible processing of biometric data is all the more important when it comes to children and adolescents. "The processing of personal data requires the legal basis and consent claimed by a person with parental rights," Funke-Kaiser said in an interview with EURACTIV. According to him, the data collected in the context of age verification cannot in any way be used for commercial purposes.^[2]

2021: Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation has prepared targets in the field of protecting children from prohibited information on the Internet

On August 18, 2021, it became known that Russian government for the first time targets were set in the field of protecting children from prohibited information Internet in and on. television We are talking about information such as profanity, scenes of violence, propaganda drugs , etc. More. here

2020: The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has created a group to combat the manipulation of the consciousness of adolescents in social networks

In early September 2020, it became known about the creation in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of a special group designed to identify and suppress attempts to manipulate the consciousness of adolescents using social networks. Read more here.