EU plans to increase Internet safety awareness with help from Member States
A new EU-funded project and a Europe-wide awareness day will form two major planks of a strategy to increase European awareness of the need for a safer Internet. Abuse of the Internet has taken on a new dimension since the 11 September terrorist attacks in the USA. There is now a drive to ensure that the publication of inflammatory political and racist material on the Internet is curtailed, in addition to pornographic, paedophile, and other unsuitable sexual content. Alleged offences reported since the attacks include the use of German websites for Jihad (holy war) recruitment and the uploading of hoax reports of survivors of the terrorist attacks. Cases have also been uncovered of the use of children's Internet sites to promote neo-Nazi messages. The EU awareness day, to be held in Luxembourg on 25 and 26 October, will bring together experts in the area to discuss how to raise awareness of Internet safety issues among the European public. It will hear the accounts of invited Canadians who have tackled the issue in their country and will analyse trends and compare progress in various countries. It will also clarify issues relating to a call for proposals to be launched by the European Commission for awareness actions. Several EU Member States are also taking action to tackle the issue of Internet safety. These include the introduction of an Internet safety initiative in Ireland and establishment of a children's e-newspaper in the Netherlands. The Irish initiative was announced on 2 October by the Irish minister for children, Mary Hanafin. It aims to minimise the dangers of using the Internet while ensuring that maximum benefit can be drawn from it. Following analysis of a report on the issue commissioned earlier this year, it emerged that many Irish parents are concerned about their children's use of the Internet but feel ill-equipped to tackle the issues it raises. A new website has been launched (www.iab.ie) offering advice to Irish families on how best to address these problems. The scheme was initiated by the country's Internet advisory board, which is appointed by the Irish government and receives public funding. In the Netherlands, the Dutch ministry of the interior is helping to fund a national weekly e-newspaper targeted at nine to 12 year olds. The paper also carries useful information for parents and teachers. Subjects to be covered in the newspaper include racism, violence and teasing as well as recreational material on topics such as sport and music. The initiative will be carried out by communications agency FutureNetWork with government funding support.