The recent launch of the Child Online Safety Toolkit aims to make the online world safer for children. The comprehensive, hands-on guide taps into numerous existing agreements and best practices in order to mitigate harm to children online. Developed in association with international experts from various backgrounds, the toolkit offers both online and printed resources to help implement child online safety.
The Contents and Aims of the Toolkit
The toolkit supports several participating international agreements and frameworks, most notably: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), General Comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in the digital environment, and the International Telecommunication Union’s Guidelines on Child Online Protection. The primary objective of these documents is to guide States Parties in implementing suitable protections for children in relation to the digital environment.
The Role of AI in Child Safety
The Child Online Safety Toolkit also incorporates UNICEF’s Draft Policy Guidance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Children. This guidance is designed to raise awareness about how AI systems can either uphold or undermine children’s rights. By integrating this guidance, the toolkit goes one step further in ensuring the protection of children in an increasingly digital world.
Significance and Need for the Toolkit
In India alone, internet penetration rose by almost 50% in 2020, largely due to the pandemic. An estimated 232 million out of India’s 749 million internet users are children. While the internet offers connectivity, knowledge, and entertainment, it also exposes children to harmful and inappropriate content.
Addressing Child Sexual Exploitation
Child sexual exploitation and abuse are major concerns in both the offline and online worlds. The WeProtect Global Alliance, a global movement participated by 200 governments, corporate companies, and civil society organisations, aims to transform the global response to child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The alliance serves as a vital part of the toolkit’s resources.
Creating a Safe Digital Environment for Children
The toolkit proposes that ensuring online safety is not just about responding to risks and harms. It requires active effort in designing a digital environment that is safe by default for children who form one in three of all internet users.
Implementations and Measures Taken
Several measures are already in place to protect children online. These include an online complaint management system established by the National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a ‘Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC)’ scheme sanctioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Child Abuse Prevention and Investigation Unit which investigates offences related to child abuse and sexual assault.
Looking Ahead
It’s crucial for laws and regulations to be as consistent as possible across different national contexts to enhance cross-border cooperation and understanding. Recognising the crucial need for ensuring online child safety, it is essential to develop regulations and mechanisms that protect children. Raising awareness through alerts and advisories, training law enforcement agencies, and improving cyber forensic facilities are some of the steps that will help in creating a safer online environment for children.