Consultation Questionnaire for ITU / UNICEF Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection
19 December 2013
IHRB has submitted comments to the consultation on the draft Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection (COP). There are several issues that have not been addressed in the draft, either sufficiently or at all, that would ultimately strengthen the usability and impact of the finished Guidelines.
The draft guidelines have been prepared in the context of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Child Online Protection initiative and apply to the safety of children when using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). They aim to provide advice on how industry can work to help ensure children’s safety when using the internet or any of the many associated technologies or devices which can connect to it or use it, including mobile phones and games consoles.
The draft guidelines have been developed through an initial consultation of the ITU COP members and are now open to a broader consultation until 20 December 2013.
The purpose of these Guidelines is stated as:
- To establish a common reference point and guidance to the ICT and online industries
- To provide guidance to companies on identifying, preventing and mitigating any adverse impacts of their products and services on children’s rights
- To provide guidance to companies on how to promote children’s rights and responsible digital citizenship among children and young people.
- To suggest common principles that, though requiring different models of implementation for different industry players, could potentially form the basis of national or regional pan-industry commitments.
A copy of the draft version of the Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection is available here along with a set of questions which IHRB's submission answers.
