International Telecommunication Union Committed to Connecting the World The international child protection challenge and the role of the ITU John Carr Senior Expert Adviser ITU Odessa, Ukraine, April 2011

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World The challenges  Content  Contact  Conduct  Commerce  Excessive use  Digital Divide 2

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Content  Harmful content  May not be illegal but it is undesirable  Age inappropriate materials  Suitable for adults but not for kids  Illegal content  Child abuse material – an internet crime – including self-generated 3

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Contact  Inappropriate exposure to sexual predators – adults and other young people  Inappropriate exposure to harmful online communities 4

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Conduct  Placing too much information in the public domain  Bullying  Facilitates and can promote risky sexual behaviour e.g. with web cams 5

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Commerce  Age inappropriate goods and services – more methods of paying online becoming available  Scams, identity theft, fraud 6

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Excessive use  Addiction or close to it  Impairs children’s health and personal development 7

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Digital Divide  Children with access to the internet performing better in exams  Children without the internet stigmatised as poor or old- fashioned or both  Societies without it will fall further behind 8

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Need for a holistic approach  Piecemeal approach not good enough  Need a comprehensive national focus  Involving all the key players – including the consumers!  Kids have a lot of knowledge, but that is not the same as wisdom 9

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Nature of the challenges  The huge differences in cultural and legal systems around the world is a fact of life that is not going to change in a hurry, if it ever does.  Detailed advice, guidance or instructions from a single centre is not going to be very useful 10

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Nature of the challenges  Each country has to find its own way  Many of the things we discuss are really about how families raise their children or how schools teach  But in some areas improved co- operation and harmonisation of laws is vital e.g. child pornography 11

WTIM, November 2010 Committed to Connecting the World Monitoring and Measurement  As with any public policy it is important to be able to track its impact and effects.  ITU carried out its own survey and has been putting together a compendium of indicators derived from data from other sources. ---ooo--- 12