Child Online Protection – the aims of policy. A new contribution from John Carr

Children and young people in all parts of the world now access the internet using a broad range of devices. Several of these devices are highly portable and it is therefore no longer practical to rely solely on a parent or teacher being able to support or supervise a child’s or a young person’s internet usage at all times. When formulating programmes which address children’s and young people’s safe use of the internet it is therefore crucial to stay up to date as we strive constantly to make the experience of going online safer and better. This can be done in two main ways.

At a technical level all possible reasonable steps should be taken to protect children and young people from age inappropriate and illegal content and age inappropriate contacts with third parties, whether these be human beings, commercial enterprises or other types of organizations. Of equal importance is the provision of educational and awareness initiatives (read more).