international telecommunication union committed to connecting the world the international child...

InternationalTelecommunicationUnion

Committed to Connecting the World

The international child protection challenge and the role of the ITU

John CarrSenior Expert Adviser ITU

Odessa, Ukraine, April 2011

WTIM, 24-26 November 2010


The challenges

Content Contact Conduct Commerce Excessive use Digital Divide

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Content

Harmful contentMay not be illegal but it is undesirable

Age inappropriate materialsSuitable for adults but not for kids

Illegal contentChild abuse material – an internet

crime – including self-generated

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Contact

Inappropriate exposure to sexual predators – adults and other young people

Inappropriate exposure to harmful online communities

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Conduct

Placing too much information in the public domain

Bullying Facilitates and can promote risky

sexual behaviour e.g. with web cams

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Commerce

Age inappropriate goods and services – more methods of paying online becoming available

Scams, identity theft, fraud

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Excessive use

Addiction or close to it Impairs children’s health and

personal development

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Digital Divide

Children with access to the internet performing better in exams

Children without the internet stigmatised as poor or old-fashioned or both

Societies without it will fall further behind

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Need for a holistic approach

Piecemeal approach not good enough

Need a comprehensive national focus

Involving all the key players – including the consumers!

Kids have a lot of knowledge, but that is not the same as wisdom

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Nature of the challenges

The huge differences in cultural and legal systems around the world is a fact of life that is not going to change in a hurry, if it ever does.

Detailed advice, guidance or instructions from a single centre is not going to be very useful

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Nature of the challenges

Each country has to find its own way

Many of the things we discuss are really about how families raise their children or how schools teach

But in some areas improved co-operation and harmonisation of laws is vital e.g. child pornography

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Monitoring and Measurement

As with any public policy it is important to be able to track its impact and effects.

ITU carried out its own survey and has been putting together a compendium of indicators derived from data from other sources.

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