Spain

[ES] Catalan Audiovisual Council launches project on protection of minors on the Internet

IRIS 2016-7:1/15

Mònica Duran Ruiz

Catalan Audiovisual Council

The Catalan audiovisual regulatory authority, the Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya (Catalonian Audiovisual Council, CAC) has launched a project entitled “Protecció dels menors a Internet” (Protection of Minors on the Internet). The project aims to provide users, especially children and teenagers, with a set of tools and resources to ensure greater protection from harmful content online.

The aim of this Internet awareness campaign is to educate and provide families, teachers and children with tools and resources, which supplement the work that CAC already carries out to monitor and analyse risk content on the Internet. The CAC website has a new section that includes: recommendations aimed at families, clips with tips aimed at children; a set of filters for parental control, as well as a more streamlined system for making complaints.

The clips, which are available on the website, address topics such as bullying, 'sexting', anorexia, cyber addictions, and other harmful content. The videos feature teenage actors who use the same language and register as the target audience, and are shown on the social networks Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

The recommendations include tips for children on not sharing personal information on any sites or chats, and about telling their family if someone bullies them with comments, photos or videos. Parents are also advised to browse the Internet with their children and to encourage critical thinking about content.

The Catalan public service broadcaster (which delivers both radio and television) is also supporting the CAC project by broadcasting public service advertising featuring this project. In addition to posting these recommendations on the website, the CAC will publish them on paper and is working with the Department of Education of the Catalan Government to have them disseminated to primary and secondary school pupils in Catalonia.