EU commits $70 Million to make Internet safer for children
Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 16:01 IST
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Brussels: The European Union (EU) Tuesday said that it will spend 55 million euros ($70 million) in a five-year programme to make Internet safer for children. The programme will co-fund projects to increase public awareness and create a network of contact points that allow reporting on illegal and harmful content and conduct, mainly on child sexual abuse material, grooming and cyber bullying. Money will also be spent on the establishment of a knowledge base on new trends in the use of online technologies and their consequences to children's lives by bringing together technical, psychological and sociological expertise. While 75 percent of children aged between six and 17 years are already online and 50 percent of 10-year-olds have a mobile phone, a new EU-wide survey published Tuesday shows that 60 percent of EU parents are worried that their children might fall victim to online grooming and 54 percent that their children could be bullied online. The programme will run between 2009 and 2013.
Source: IANS
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