Telefónica is one of the 25 ICT companies in Europe that have signed the first ICT_Principles to improve the child online safety. The objective of these guidelines is to ensure that children and young people obtain the greatest benefit from new technologies, while avoiding the misuses which are of concern to parents.
ICT Coalition for a Safer Internet for Children and Young People has announced its guiding principles for the development of products and services to actively enhance the safety of children and young people online.
The ICT Principles are supported by a wide range of technologies, from network operators through device manufacturers, content providers, search engines and beyond, and focus on the key areas of: content, parental controls, dealing with abuse/misuse, child sexual abuse content or illegal contact, privacy & control and education & awareness.
The Principles differ from other ongoing initiatives because they provide a long term roadmap for safer development and cover all aspects of accessing and using the internet and its services.
Signatories pledge to:
- develop innovative ways of enhancing online safety and encouraging responsible use of the internet and internet access devices by children and young people;
- empower parents and carers to engage with and help protect their children;
- provide easily accessible, clear and transparent information about online safety and behaviour;
- raise awareness of how – and to whom – to report abuse and concerns.
Signatories will begin implementation of the principles in 2012. Nowadays a multi-stakeholder platform is being setup to ensure that industry signatories can get feedback from a wide range of stakeholders, including children’s advocates and national representatives.
