Working together to better protect children online

At Google we know that collaboration has been key to ensuring that our products and services offer families a safe and secure experience online, which is why we regularly work with NGOs, government and industry partners to empower parents and children with the tools and skills they need to make the most of the Internet. In previous years, we’ve held events bringing together NGOs from around Europe to discuss these important issues and explore opportunities for better partnership.  This year, we are hosting our third Child Safety Summit in collaboration with Facebook. On April 14-15 in Dublin NGOs from 18 countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa  will join us to exchange best practices, discuss how we all can better protect children online, and work together to ensure that we anticipate and respond to the ever-changing needs that children have on the web. Since Google believes deeply in technology’s ability to unlock creativity, we work hard to ensure that parents and children have the tools and knowledge they need to make smart and responsible choices on online. Google’s work falls into three distinct areas, all of which will be addressed at this year’s summit: product and feature launches that help ensure we provide offer families a safe and secure experience online, commitment and investment in the fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation online, and partnerships with NGOs on digital literacy in order to help build an informed and responsible generation of digital citizens.

Our ongoing partnerships with NGOs respond to local challenges and aim to have a lasting impact.

• In the UK, we have launched Internet Legends, an interactive, in-school assembly for 8-11 year olds. In partnership with Parentzone, we are aiming to educate 10,000 primary school children from 40 schools across the country on online safety. Using the powerful and memorable Internet Legends code, we are working together to empower children with the tools they need to stay safe and act responsibly online.
• In Spain, we partnered with FAD to launch an interactive game to promote safe and responsible use of the Internet by teens. The game focuses on building skills and fostering deeper understanding around privacy, security, copyright and best practices for safe & responsible behavior online. 12,000 Spanish students have participated so far, and we held an initial awards ceremony in the European Parliament to celebrate winners.
• In France, we worked alongside e-Enfance and YouTube creators Rose Carpet to launch a campaign, #NonAuHarcèlement. The initial video was filmed in our YouTube Space in Paris and aims to facilitate a movement for teens to unite against online bullying and harassment.
• In Italy, we launched a web safety and digital empowerment campaign with Altroconsumo, the largest consumer association in the country. Love the internet, safely offers practical, educational material to encourage users to create stronger passwords, enable features like Google SafeSearch, and take the Google Privacy Checkup.

We believe that companies like Google have a responsibility to not only ensure that our products and services offer the safest and most secure experiences possible, but that we also work alongside a wide range of stakeholders and industry partners to creatively and effectively raise awareness and offer support on these important issues.

Posted by Brittany Smith, Online Safety Lead, Public Policy, EMEA