Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-01-Speech-3-189"
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"en.20041201.17.3-189"2
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".
Mr President, children must be able to make use of the Internet and other new media in safety, without being confronted with illegal and unwanted content. Such is the ambitious objective of the Safer Internet Plus
Programme.
The Commission’s proposal makes it clear that a decision has been made in favour of self-regulation, with much of the responsibility being laid on parents, educators and other end users. That is an approach that I wholeheartedly support. The programme draws a clear distinction between illegal content and unwanted content. There is a crucial difference, in my view. In that respect, the emphasis is on providing information to parents and educators. That too, I support without reservation.
The programme’s four action lines have to do primarily with the fight against illegal content, in particular child pornography. The network of child pornography hotlines in the European Union is being extended, whilst the initiative for setting up such hotlines should come from the Member States themselves, the Commission can, and indeed should, encourage and accelerate this process. After all, it is of major importance that each EU Member State should, as soon as possible, have its own hotline so that we can fight child pornography on the Internet across the EU.
In addition, the programme offers Internet users the means of protecting themselves against unwanted content, for example by filtering it. In close cooperation with the shadow rapporteurs, I have opted mainly for focusing on research into this technology and assessment of it. There are all kinds of content filters available for parents who wish to make use of them, but there is often a great lack of information about how well this technology performs, and this is where the European Union can make a useful contribution. In the framework of the
Safer Internet Plus Programme, research can be carried out into the performance level of the technology, and it is possible to examine on the basis of precisely which criteria these filters operate. It can also be examined whether filters are sound instruments in any case to help users protect themselves. Indeed, there are plenty of examples of filters that filter away far too much. For example, there are filters that work on the basis of key words and that inadvertently make information about such subjects as sexual education or breast cancer inaccessible. That could never be the intention, of course. Other filters do not filter enough, which effectively renders them useless. We should, moreover, not overlook the fact that children can often very easily deactivate those irritating filters without their parents knowing, so that they can continue to surf to their hearts’ content.
This brings me to the third action line, which I myself regard as the most important. Many Internet users, particularly parents, are completely oblivious to the risks their children run on the Internet. It follows that many parents have no idea what their children are doing or experiencing on the Internet. In order to promote a truly safe environment for children, we therefore need to invest heavily in providing information to parents. Just as parents try to equip their children to defend themselves in the off-line world and tell them that they should not go off with strangers, parents would also be able to guide their children more effectively on the Internet. For this to happen, though, parents need to be aware of the fact that there are risks.
I believe that another crucial point in the provision of information is technical protection. One result of a lack of protection of Internet users’ own computers is a deluge of unwanted content with which they are confronted. One example that springs to mind is spyware, which constantly guides your Internet browser to a specific porn or gambling website, or irritating pop-ups that you simply cannot remove. A lack of technical protection of the computer can also result in Internet users spreading illegal or unwanted content without them knowing, with all the consequences that this entails. Research has shown that most European broadband users have still not protected their computers sufficiently. Information campaigns should therefore take this into consideration.
The fourth action line concerns the setting up of the Safer Internet Forum. This is a unique discussion forum for industry, Internet providers and software manufacturers, but also for organisations of users, such as parents, child protection agencies, consumer clubs, civil rights movements, and others. This forum offers a space where self-regulation can be developed. Codes of conduct need to be drafted in order to examine how the industry itself can contribute to a safer Internet, for example by means of providing information to its own users, but also by means of sound agreements, on the basis of self-regulation, about transparent and careful notice and take-down procedures, something which is desperately needed.
It is important to realise that the use of the Internet always poses certain risks. It will never be possible to completely remove all unwanted content from the Internet, nor is that entirely desirable. It is up to parents to guide their children. Just as every parent teaches their children not to go off with strangers when they play outside, there are also rules of conduct for the Internet, and that is why the information, for which this programme makes provision, is so crucial.
Since the programme is set to enter into effect as soon as January of next year, it was necessary to give it our prompt attention. Over the past few weeks, together with the shadow rapporteurs, I have worked with both the Council and the Commission in a very constructive dialogue, and the present report is the outcome of our efforts. I should thus like to extend warm thanks the shadow rapporteurs and to our partners in the Commission and the Council. We have managed to get virtually all of the points we made taken on board. We have the Commission’s and the Council’s unqualified support for this text, and the report was also approved unanimously in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. I hope for similar support in the plenary, so that the Safer Internet Plus Programme can take off with the necessary dynamism on 1 January 2005."@en1
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