On 16 September 2010, a conference titled A Changing World: Young People and the Online Risk took place at the Academy of the Ministry of Interior in Sofia. The one-day event was co-organised by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) – a British law enforcement agency with the capacity for social work and intelligence, Visa Europe and the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre. Some of the other participants included the Bulgarian Ministry of the Culture, the State Agency for Child Protection, the Executive Agency for Information Technologies at the Ministry of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, the Bulgarian mobile provider Mobiltel, etc.
The main purpose of the forum was to reemphasize the serious risks that accompany the inevitably-changing nature of our world, where time spent online has become an indelible part of our daily lives and especially of those of our children, whose primary way of socialization is done virtually. The participants agreed that it is crucial to raise awareness about the threats that internet has brought along, such as cyber-bullying, pornography, grooming, etc, and to join efforts in safeguarding the virtual space. The partakers presented the issue from legal, technological, financial, and social perspectives, and pinpointed the major achievements and drawbacks, which have accompanied the struggle to make the online environment safer.
Mr. Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Bulgarian Deputy-Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, opened the conference saying that our children are not sufficiently informed about the dangers of using the Internet and it is imperative that they become more aware of their virtual environment. The Minister also expressed the need for a stronger cooperation and coordination among stakeholders.
The British Ambassador to Bulgaria, H.E. Steve Williams, followed with the statement that the world today is not what it used to be 20 years ago, but it has become increasingly virtual. Children nowadays are more technically and Internet savvy than the older generations, the Ambassador said. However, they are still naïve and inexperienced to realise the great risks of the cyberspace. Mr. Williams reemphasized the importance of public-private partnership.
Mr. Georgi Apostolov, coordinator of the Safer Internet Centre in Bulgaria, operated by ARC Fund, presented the activities and structure of the centre and how it cooperates with its counterparts in other EU and non-EU countries. Mr. Apostolov talked about the crucial place of knowledge and alertness of both parents and children. He stressed the fundamental role of the family and the parent-child communication in successfully reducing the exposure to online threat and the risk of falling victim to online predators.
Ms. Helen Penn from CEOP explained the issue from British and CEOP points of view. She talked about a so-called “sexualization,” which accompanies technological innovations in the media world. It is promoted by the popular culture and is expressed in massive increase in sexual content, which kids generate and share electronically. Thus, the unaware youngsters unintentionally facilitate the abuse of this content by malevolent people and expose themselves to a greater risk of cyber-bullying, grooming, child pornography, etc., Ms. Penn said.
Mr. Yavor Kolev, Head of the Cybercrime Unit at the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime at the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior, presented the structure and the capacity of the cybercrime Unit as well as the Bulgarian legal framework in regard with pornography and online illegal activities concerning the abuse of children. Mr. Kolev explained that the discrepancies in the national legislations of different countries impede the efforts to counter the flow of illegal online content. The cybercrime chief mentioned the incipient notion of “filtering” of the internet space, which the Council of Europe is currently discussing. This concept proposes placing virtual entry control points for online content, similar to the physical customs points.
Mrs. Albena Spassova, Executive Director of the Academy for Training in Cyber-Crime Investigations, made a detailed review of the international and national legislation as well as the possible ways and tools to counter the growing online threats to children.
The presenters from Visa Europe and Mobiltel, Mr. Pete Lakeman and Mr. Krasen Hinkov, discussed the financial and technological aspects of online risk and explained the control methods, which their companies employ to reduce this risk.
Mrs. Iva Boneva with the Centre for Inclusive Education rounded up the main points raised at the conference and indentified the priorities for a future course of action. These include legislative amendments, more dedicated involvement of the public institutions in the Safer Internet activities, including financial support to the national Safer Internet Centre.
