Page 6 - SAMENA Trends - August 2020

FEATURED SAMENA TRENDS

Similar to the use of the Internet, there (through, for example, voice assistance, also one of the first targets for ensuring,
are downsides to the use of emerging and accessibility and new forms of digital as described in the United Nations
more advanced ICTs. The ITU notes that immersion), some such technologies Convention on the Rights of the Child, that
developments in AI and machine learning, could have unintentional impacts and “the child shall have the right to freedom of
virtual and augmented reality, big data, even be misused by child sex offenders expression; this right shall include freedom
robotics and the Internet of Things are set to serve their needs. Creating a safe and to seek, receive and impart information and
to transform children and young people’s secure online environment for children and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers,
media practices even further. While youth requires the effective participation either orally, in writing or in print, in the
these technologies are predominantly of governments, the private sector and all form of art, or through any other media of
being developed to expand the scope of stakeholders. Focusing on the digital skills the child’s choice.”
service delivery and enhance convenience and literacy of parents and educators is
Child Online Protection - An Imperative Defined Over a Decade Ago
Since 2009, the Child Online Protection (COP) Initiative, an international multi-stakeholder effort established by ITU, has aimed to raise
awareness of risks to children online and responses to those. The Initiative brings together partners from all sectors of the global
community to ensure a safe and secure online experience for children everywhere. As part of the Initiative, in 2009 ITU published a set
of COP guidelines for four groups: children; parents, guardians and educators; industry; and policy-makers. COP is understood in these
guidelines as an all-inclusive approach to respond to all potential threats and harms that children and young people may encounter
either online or facilitated by online technologies.
“We at ITU aim not
only at keeping the

COP Guidelines a
living document that
benefits from contin-
uous exchange with
implementing ICT com-
panies, but we will
Two years ago, the Plenipotentiary Confer- over, the Conference recognized the 2030 support individual busi-
ence of the International Telecommunica- Agenda for Sustainable Development, ad-
tion Union 2018, held in Dubai, reaffirmed dressing various aspects of child online nesses in their efforts
the importance of the COP Initiative by protection in the Sustainable Development to protect and empow-
acknowledging it as a platform to raise Goals (SDGs), in particular SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, er children online.
awareness, share best practices, and to 9, 10 and 16; it further recognized Resolu-
provide assistance and support to Member tion 175 (Rev. Dubai, 2018), on accessibili- We believe that the ICT
States, especially developing countries, in ty for persons with disabilities and persons Industry could do even
developing and implementing COP road- with specific needs to telecommunication/
maps. It also recognized the importance information and communication technol- more by building on
of the protection of children online with- ogy (ICT) and Resolution 67 (Rev. Buenos the great opportuni-
in the framework of the United Nations Aires, 2017) of the World Telecommuni-
Convention on the Rights of the Child and cation Development Conference (WTDC), ties of online platforms
other human rights treaties by encourag- on the role of the ITU Telecommunication to support child parti-
ing collaboration between all stakeholders Development Sector (ITU-D) in child online cipation in policy-
involved in child online protection. More- protection.
making processes. We
Recognizing that COP is a complex challenge and to help guide industry stakeholders not call upon all relevant
and encompasses multiple policy, regulatory, only on managing and containing illegal industry stakeholders
governance, operational, technical and legal, online activity, but to also act upon other
and collaborative aspects, the COP Guidelines issues which may not be so well-defined as to join efforts on COP
attempt to address, organize and prioritize crimes across all jurisdictions. These include for and with children.”
many of these areas, based on existing and peer-to-peer violence, cyber-bullying and
well recognized models, frameworks and online harassment, as well as issues related Ms. Doreen Bogdan-
other references. Thus the Guidelines serve to privacy or general well-being, fraud or Martin, BDT Director,
as a well-coordinated, and well-corroborated other threats, which may only be harmful to
attempt to focus on protecting children in all children in certain contexts. ITU, Switzerland
areas and against all risks of the digital world,
6 AUGUST 2020