1. Key Policy Questions and Expectations:
1. What are the problems and challenges of online protection of underage users?
2. Sharing the experiences and practices of online protection of underage users.
3. How to use the laws and policies to strengthen the online protection of underage users?
3. Policy Recommendations or Suggestions for the Way Forward:
Social-cultural recommendations: 1) Greater evidence and understanding is needed of the interplay between offline and online violence and its causes and how the multi-stakeholder approach that includes governments, the private sectors, families and children can effectively prevent violence and protect children from harm. This includes both education and awareness raising but also recovery and support services that take into account both online and offline risks; 2) Internet has no boundaries, online protection of underage users is a common issue all around the world, to prevent and respond to violence and abuse of online underage users needs jointly efforts from stakeholders of the whole world; 3) Online protection of underage users should include two sides, one is to control the negative impacts, and another is to promote positive guidance.
Governance issues recommendations: 1) Monitor the applications of the legislation related to online protection of underage users in cyberspace and confirm the age ratings; 2) Consider different opinions regarding the potential effects of technology on children’s growth and development.
4. Other Initiatives Addressing the Session Issues:
The presenters discussed the common problems in children's information protection system in different countries and suggested that we could address more attention to the following issues: 1) reducing the experience of children’s online services and constituting reverse discrimination against children's users; 2) high social cost of identifying children's age and obtaining guardian's consent; 3) the sharing of platform responsibility and guardian responsibility.
Two presenters introduced the Regulation on the Protection of Children's Personal Information Online, which was the first legislation in China specifically aim at children's online protection. The law sets out strict requirements for network operators that collect, store, use, transfer, or discloses the personal information of minors under 14 years old.
A professor from University of Münster introduced The Three-Level Protection System of Minors in German Media Law: 1) absolutely illegal contents–particularly dangerous contents; 2) prohibited contents – seriously harmful contents; and 3) contents detrimental to the development of minors.
5. Making Progress for Tackled Issues:
To strengthen the online protection of underage users, the presenters had shared their experiences and pointed out that the rapid development of the Internet provides infinite possibilities for the growth of underage users, while the protection of underage users in cyberspace is still not enough. Some contents in cyberspace have a fierce conflict with many traditional educational concepts, especially some traditional educational principles and concepts in both China and many other countries in the East. It is still necessary to strengthen the control and guidance of access sites and equipment to control the negative impacts and promote positive guidance.
6. Estimated Participation:
There were around 100 participants attended this forum in Convention Hall I-C in person.
There were 97 online participants.
There were nearly 50 women present this forum onsite.
7. Reflection to Gender Issues:
There was no gender issue discussed in this forum.