Children access the internet to study online after the COVID-19 fourth wave broke out in Hanoi. The internet has become the only way for many children to access education during the pandemic (Photo: VNA) UnderDecision No 830 signed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the nationalprogramme on child protection online - the first national-level programme onthis issue in Vietnam - aims to protect the privacy of children andprevent and handle acts of abuse.
Specifically,the programme focuses on supplying children with age-appropriate knowledge andskills so that children can self-identify and be able to protect themselveswhen online.
Itwill also maintain a healthy network environment, develop an ecosystem ofVietnamese applications for children to learn, socialise and express themselvesin a safe and creative way.
Theprogramme includes initiatives in deploying new technologies such as artificialintelligence and big data to automatically collect and analyse early warningson content not suitable for children.
Websiteswith the national “.vn” domain and those with IP addresses in Vietnam will berequired to self-categorise content suitable for children's ages. Those whoprovide online services and applications for children have to self-deploysolutions to protect children and assist parents or caregivers in managingchildren's use of applications and services.
Networkoperators and digital platform providers such as Google, Facebook, and Zalowill apply artificial intelligence technology and big data analysis to filtervideos and clips with malicious content.
Underthe programme, businesses will be encouraged to develop information securitysolutions to protect children on the internet.
Theprogramme also integrates online notification channels on issues related tochildren with the national child protection hotline at 111. This will becomethe only application on the network environment to reflect and share issuesrelated to children.
Inaddition, the programme includes building and integrating into the educationalprogramme the training of digital skill sets for children by age. Children willbe taught a number of skills such as common knowledge of the internet andsocial networks; information security skills; personal information protection;and how to recognise abuse.
Theimplementation of digital skill sets will be piloted in five cities of Hanoi, HoChi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho.
Childrencan visit the website: toshare issues of online abuse and help them express their own voices.
AUNICEF survey of children and young people in Vietnam showed thatone-fifth of the total number of children surveyed said they have been victimsof cyberbullying.
Reportsfrom the Department of Child Affairs under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids andSocial Affairs showed that after nearly 16 years of operating the hotline 111,the department has received over 4 million calls to discuss issues related tochildren.
Therewere more than 700,000 cases of child sexual abuse images and videos appearingonline in Vietnam last year. On average, more than 60 percent of children inthe country have access to an internet-connected device.
Whenthe programme is implemented, the network to protect children in the onlineenvironment will be deployed by inter-agencies of the Ministry of PublicSecurity, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Department ofChild Affairs and legal consulting units.
Whenchildren call the hotline 111, information will be received and supported in atimely manner. All children who are victims of abuse on the internet will besupported and intervened at the request of children themselves or from theirrelatives and the community as well.
Allprimary, secondary and high schools will be required to teach knowledge andskills for students to participate in a safe online environment./.
VNA
