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About

About the Child Online Protection Initiative

Protecting children online is a global challenge, which requires a global approach. While many efforts to improve child online protection are already under way, their reach has been more national than global.

ITU launched the Child Online Protection (COP) Initiative in November 2008 as a multi-stakeholder effort within the Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) framework. The initiative brings together partners from all sectors of the global community to create a safe and empowering online experience for children around the world. COP was presented to the ITU Council in 2008 and endorsed by the UN Secretary-General, Heads of State, Ministers and heads of international organizations from around the world.

COP takes a holistic approach to promoting child online safety, developing strategies that span five key areas:

Legal measures
Technical and Procedural Measures
Organizational Structures
Capacity Building
International Cooperation

The initiative works with partners to develop cybersecurity strategies across these areas and promote safe online environments for children around the world.

Legal Measures

A comprehensive framework of law is an essential tool for promoting a supportive and safer online environment for children and young people. COP tracks approaches taken in different countries with varying legal systems and produces guidelines designed to help Member States achieve their goals.

Technical & Procedural Measures

COP develops key recommendations and standards to support the protection of children online by all key stakeholders.

Organizational Structures

COP promotes a model national framework to assist in the development of a positive online environment for children and young people. COP encourages the creation of COP Units at national level and is developing a series of indicators to assist with the measurement of progress in implementing online child protection initiatives at global, regional, and national levels.

Capacity Building

COP supports countries in the implementation of COP National Frameworks and organizes strategic events at regional and global level to support these processes.

International Cooperation

COP promotes a global culture of digital citizenship and encourages the establishment of cooperative arrangements for sharing information in order to eliminate or mitigate risks to children and young people online.

Key Objectives of COP

Identify risks and vulnerabilities to children in cyberspace
Create awareness
Develop practical tools to help minimize risks
Share knowledge and experience

WELCOME

Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary-General
"I welcome the ITU's Child
Online Protection Initiative and I urge all States to support it."

Houlin Zhao
ITU Secretary-General
"Promoting access to ICTs is ITU's core mandate. At the same time, ITU needs to ensure the protection of children online so that they can use ICTs safely and with confidence."

H.E. Laura Chinchilla
President of Costa Rica & Patron of Child Online Protection
"Individual rights without the fulfillment of duties causes cracks in society. Democracy without responsibility undermines freedom."