Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
|
ITU and UNICEF release new Guidelines for Industry on Child Online
Protection
Aim to protect and empower children online
Jointly issued by ITU and UNICEF
Geneva, 5 September 2014 – The International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and
partners of the Child Online Protection Initiative, today released updated
Guidelines to strengthen online protection for children.
“The revolution in online communications have created tremendous
opportunities for young people today, but at the same time they have been
exposed to new risks in cyberspace,” said ITU Secretary-General
Hamadoun I. Touré. “These guidelines, prepared in partnership with the Child
Online Protection initiative, respond to substantial advances in technology
to assess and respond to children’s needs in the online world.”
The Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection provide advice on
how the ICT industry can help promote safety for children using the Internet
or any technologies or devices that can connect to it, as well as guidance
on how to enable responsible digital citizenship, learning and civic
participation. The updated version provides guidance specifically aimed at
companies that develop, provide or make use of information and communication
technologies.
“Innovation by the private sector has helped drive the digital
revolution. The same spirit of innovation is key to expanding the reach of
that revolution to the most disadvantaged children — and to keeping all
children safer, more connected, and more engaged as digital citizens of the
future,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.
The Guidelines call for a comprehensive response to the online risks
facing children and partnerships across multiple stakeholder groups,
including governments, companies, civil society, parents and educators.
“Children’s online safety is a responsibility we all share: from those
who care for and teach children, to the companies who provide online
services, to policy-makers. Our goal at Facebook is to provide the most
accessible online tools for teens as well as to enable them to seek help and
advice when they need it. The Guidelines provide a framework for company
action on children’s online safety, so we appreciated the opportunity to
contribute our expertise to their development. They are practical,
evidence-based and should be impactful,” said Simon Milner, Policy Director,
Facebook.
The Guidelines were developed in alignment with the UN Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights and the Children’s Rights and Business
Principles. They can be accessed online, together with selected case studies
at
www.itu.int/en/cop/Pages/guidelines.aspx
For more information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
|
Eija Hietavuo
CSR Manager
UNICEF
|
About ITU...
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything that
it does. Together with its partners, UNICEF works in 190 countries and
territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special
effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of
all children, everywhere. For more information, please visit
www.unicef.org. Follow UNICEF on
Twitter and
Facebook