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The 28 September 2009, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a recommendation on
the promotion of Internet and online media services appropriate for minors.
Internet: managing risks and
opportunities
This recommendation, coming on the
back of a report by PACE member Mr Kozma, notes the potential of the
internet to increase opportunities for information, communication,
creativity, education, social interaction and civic participation. On the
other hand, the recommendation also calls on the Council of Europe, on
Internet Service Providers and other private-sector actors, on parents,
teachers and children as well as civil society to work together to help
ensure that minors enjoying these new opportunities, are protected from
harmful content such as child pornographic material or violent video games,
from aggressive commercial practices and from gender stereotypes.
What can be done by whom?
In order to protect children’s
rights online, the recommendation calls on states to establish national
institutions for the cooperation between all relevant actors on these
matters. While noting that security systems can never replace accessible and
adequate education, the recommendations asks states to raise awareness about
the measures which parents can undertake in order to overcome these dangers
for example through use of filters and restricted computer networks. Finally
it calls on those states who have not yet ratified the Council of Europe
Cyberspace Convention to do so.
The recommendation asks the Council
of Europe to establish closer cooperation with the EU Intersafe programme,
to analyse the potential psychological risks of excessive internet and
online media use by minors, to consider drawing up legal standards for the
regulation of online gambling and finally, to define the legal
responsibility of ISPs in relation to illegal content, if necessary through
the drafting of a new protocol to the Cybercrime convention.
Finally, the recommendation calls
upon the Council of Europe to develop guidelines for education on media
literacy and encourages the online media industry to develop and apply codes
of conduct with regard to privacy protection and content potentially harmful
to minors.
Click here to read the full
Recommendation
Click here for more information on
children and internet
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