On Safer Internet Day, civil society calls on the state institutions to take attitude. On this day, the International Center “La Strada” reiterates its concern about the fact that the national policies on child protection and education in Moldova make no reference to the online safety for children, IPN reports.
According to the Center, even if Moldova is among the top ten states with the highest Internet speed and with an increasing Internet penetration rate, the state delays to give an answer. “The Republic of Moldova does not yet have a national platform or group that would address the given issue, while the national policies on child protection and education do not make reference to the online safety for children. Now that information technology develops swiftly and becomes more accessible in different spheres of life, the state authorities’ silence is especially risky,” said president of the International Center “La Strada” Ana Revenko. According to her, the thematic plan of action that was announced a year ago hasn’t been yet implemented.
The statistical data of the national platform for promoting child Internet safety shows that the number of reports by children who say they were abused online has doubled. “This day is an opportunity to underline once again the necessity of responsibly using information technology and everyone’s role in transforming the virtual area into a safer environment. As the slogan of the event this year urges us, we firmly believe that the representatives of the ICT sector, education and law systems, politicians, children and parents should combine forces to ensure the safe and responsible use of the Internet,” stated Angela Palancean, coordinator of the portal siguronline.md.
Safer Internet Day is celebrated in over 100 countries worldwide with the assistance of the European Commission and the 31 National Safer Internet Centers.
