US and EU sign joint declaration on making the internet safer for children
European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes and US homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano signed a joint declaration in London on November 20 2012, committing to make the internet a safer and better place for children.
In the declaration, Kroes and Napolitano:
- agree to implement joint campaigns on the occasion of an annual Safer Internet Day. As a first step, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security intends to participate in the EU’s Safer Internet Day for young people on February 5, 2013.
- commit to contribute to international cooperation in fighting child sexual abuse online in the immediate future. This will build on existing work by the Virtual Global Taskforce and Interpol on law enforcement collaboration to combat child sexual abuse worldwide. International cooperation is essential if we are to be effective in fighting child sexual abuse online.
- acknowledge that parents and guardians need to trust the content and services their children access and commit to continue working with industry and other stakeholders so that parents and children can make informed choices online.
This declaration complements other European Commission initiatives to keep children save and confident in the digital world, the European Commission said.
These include the EU Strategy for a safer internet and better internet content for children and teenagers presented earlier this year and a European Commission-brokered coalition of top tech and media companies to make the internet a better place for children, the Commission said.
(Photo: US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and European Council Vice President Nellie Kroes sign a joint statement in London on November 20th 2012, designed to make the internet a safer and better place for children : EU/AFP/ WILL OLIVER)