EU policy-makers must ensure that all families are given support and guidance to access and navigate the digital environment in a meaningful way. This includes strong legal frameworks as well as strong and “low-threshold” evidence-based support and prevention measures for families. COFACE has produced a policy brief highlighting the importance of digital technologies for children and their families, and analysing whether existing and currently debated EU frameworks aimed at ensuring safe and empowering digital experiences for children integrate a families perspective.
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OPINION – Making video games fun for families: the crucial role of family settings awareness
53% of Europe’s population between the ages of 6 and 64 plays video games. And, whilst the average age of a player is 32, many players are children. Europe’s video game companies are dedicated to creating games for everyone to enjoy and, also, importantly, to provide safe, responsible environments for those games to be enjoyed in.
OPINION – Digital Services Act: New EU rules to protect and empower minors online
We can show kids and teens the path and we can even make it safer for them, but we can’t always be there to hold their hands nor keep them from going out into the world – and the world wide web. The environments that children are growing up in today are drastically different from the ones that we have known in the past. However, one thing is still the same: children and teens want to follow their curiosities, learn who they are and connect with other kids. Today they can do this from the palm of their hands.
Time for the European Union to adopt strong rules to protect children from online sexual abuse
On this Safer Internet Day 2024, COFACE urges EU stakeholders to extend the temporary ePrivacy Derogation by at least two years, but with the main focus on adopting a long-term framework on preventing and combatting online child sexual abuse. Policy makers and technology companies must play their part to keep children safe online and not leave the burden on children and their families.
OPINION – Europe, listen to survivors and stop abuse online
Content warning: this article includes material about child sexual abuse that some people might find confronting.
In the 17 seconds you have taken to read this far, footage or images of at least 34 children being abused have been uploaded onto the world wide web. 2 per second. This is the rate of appearance of the kind of material Apple is wilfully failing to detect.
Children online: Safe and supported digital citizens
On this Safer Internet Day, COFACE Families Europe calls on all relevant stakeholders to ensure that children are supported in their development as digital citizens.
OPINION: It’s our collective responsibility to protect children – and tech has a key role to play
As a parent and child safety expert, I see great value in how the internet can help children grow. Finding relevant information can be transformational but it’s important that this is done in a way that is safe, protects their privacy, and puts minors in control of their data.