12 Feb : UN telecom agency and the European Commission have teamed up to protect children – among the most active and most vulnerable users of the Internet – from online dangers, including cyber-bullying and paedophilia.
"Child online safety must be on the global agenda," Secretary-General of the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Hamadoun Touri said in a press release.
The Geneva-based ITU has joined forces with the EC to mark Safer Internet Day, which includes more than 500 events in 50 countries worldwide to promote child online protection.According to recent surveys, over 60 per cent of children and teenagers talk in chat rooms on a daily basis.
Three in four children online are willing to share personal information about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services. One in five children will be targeted by a predator or paedophile each year.
"We must ensure that everyone is aware of the dangers for children online. And we want to promote and strengthen the many outstanding efforts that are being made around the world, such as the Safer Internet Programme, to limit these dangers," said Touri.