Child protection Online

1. Dr. Ahmad Sofian
ECPAT Indonesia
Email : ahsofian@gmail.com

2.  One in three Internet users is a child and more than 175,000 children go online for
the first time every day
 Globally, children and young people are the major users of information and
communication technologies (ICTs)
 Technology has created possibilities for children to be connected and to access all
kinds of information
 But, they also become more vulnerable to its harmful aspects
 The danger is increased due to lack of protection for children
 To design effective measures against these threats and dangers, it is necessary to
have an in-depth understanding of children's activities on the internet

3. Age
Rang
e
Popular online activities Main dangers and risks
1-4 Music listening and videos watching,
random access to websites
Whatever they look at is received at
face value
5-7 Use computers or smartphones in order to
play games
Victims of online marketers, personal
information leaks
8-10 Online gaming, surfing, chatting They can contact older (unknown)
children and/or adults
11-13 Web search, online games, chatting, use of
e-mail, use of OSN (Online Social Networks)
Victims of sexual predators, illegal
content, cyberbullying
15-18 Extensive use OSN, any internet activity Recipients and senders of sexual
content, cyber grooming
Source : ITU (International Communication Union), 2021

4.  According to a 2017 UNICEF report, as many as five million child profiles in the
digital world have been stolen
 INTERPOL’s database contains 2.7 million images of child victims (2019)
 In 2017, INTERPOL identified 10,000 child sexual abuse victims
 The production and distribution of criminal child pornography has an estimated
value of between $3 billion and $20 billion.
 NCMEC reported that during the first six months of 2020, reports of child sexual
abuse materials surged 90 percent to more than 12 million

5. Growing
Complexity
through ICT
Increased
criminalization of
the Internet
Lack of
understanding on
the harms posed
to children by new
technologies
Lack of expertise
and capacity to
investigate these
crimes
Lack of national
laws that protect
children online
present in every
country

6. Type of Abuse Technologies Characteristics that
increase the danger
• Child sexual • Mobile phones • Ease of access
• Lack of laws
• Lack of anonymity
• Scale and scope of
internet use
• Permanence
• Real and unreal
abuse/exploitation • Games consoles
material
• Online grooming for
sexual purposes
• Internet
• Webcams
• Sexting
• Sexual extortion
• Live online child sexual
abuse/live streaming
• Harassment and
intimidation.

8. Risks arising from the interaction of two minors
such as cyberbullying.
Risks arising from interactions between children
and adults, such as cyber grooming.
Risks arising from data collection, to privacy
protection, such as viruses and other malware

9. Content risks
Contact risks
Children targeted as consumers
Economics risks
Online privacy risks

10. No. Risks Explanation
1. Content risks Illegal content (content about sexual exploitation of children), age
inappropriate content (pornography, hatred, violence related content) and
harmful advice (children are exposed dangers , child consume alcohol,
drugs, to commit suicide, different psychological and nutritional disorder)
2. Contact risks Children have direct interaction online, either with other children or with
adults : cyber grooming, cyber bulling, cyber stalking, cyber harassment
3. Children targeted
as consumers
Mostly for products and services designed only for adults : alcohol,
tobacco, drugs, and prescription medicines (doping substances).
Gambling, pornography contents, dating services
4. Economics risks Spent exorbitantly if they have access to payment methods either through a
mobile phone or other online services : registering and transferring money
in gambling and online games
5. Online privacy
risks
Children give out personal information easier than adults in order to receive
an award, offering quiz, discount or free service

11. The DQ Institute (https://www.dqinstitute.org/) launched
the Child Online Safety Index on Safer Internet Day 2020,
after surveying 145,426 children and youth in 30 countries
over the past three years. The Child Online Safety Index
(COSI) measures the level of online safety for children
worldwide based on six pillars:

14.  Internet access, activities and skills
 Risky online activities
 Children’s experiences of online sexual exploitation and abuse
 Disclosure and reporting of online sexual exploitation and abuse
 Identification and investigation of OCSEA cases
 Children's experiences with law enforcement mechanisms, the justice
process and social services
 Current initiatives for children

15.  We need stronger political will and investment from the governments in term of
financial and human resources and we need more commitments and actions from
companies.
 Engage the public – including children, caregivers and teachers – in awareness
about exploitation and abuse of children via existing national programmes
 Invest in digital literacy programmes for children, caregivers and teachers
 Engage with children to encourage open dialogue
 When children do not know about sex, it enables offenders to take advantage
 Age-appropriate education and awareness raising approaches need to reach all
children
 Inform children about their right to be protected from all forms of emotional,
physical and sexual abuse and exploitation
 Impose legal duties on domestic internet service providers

16.  Inform children about their right to be protected from all forms of emotional,
physical and sexual abuse and exploitation, including OCSEA
 Facilitate access to trusted sources of information online for children
 Responses to disclosures of OCSEA should always convey that the abuse is never
the child’s fault.
 Engage with children to encourage open dialogue about their online and offline
interactions and behaviour
 children, caregivers, teachers, and those working with children to understand the
full extent of the risks when sharing sexual content online.
 Train all staff of social support services (not just specialist services) to recognize
the unique risks and harms of OCSEA
 When children do not know about sex, it enables offenders to take advantage.
Seventy-two percent of children surveyed in Indonesia have not received any sex
education.