Point de Contact organised three roundtable discussions on online child protection to celebrate Safer internet Day 2022.

On the 8th of February, on the occasion of the Safer Internet Day, the French hotline Point de Contact, together with Génération numérique and Ecole Marianne, hosted a round table event bringing together contributors to the cause of child protection in France. Secretary-General of CIPDR, Christian Gravel, Deputy Laetitia Avia, as well as representatives from Gendarmerie Nationale, Meta, Google, Yubo et TikTok, ARCOM, Aleph Networks, DILCRAH participated in this event to discuss how to educate and protect children from harmful content on the Internet and promote republican values. The opening speech was given by Marlène Schiappa, French Minister Delegate in charge of Citizenship, attached to the Minister of the Interior.

The first panel focused on possible political measures to protect the youth from hateful messages and ideologies online. The participants of the second panel addressed the question of how to best educate minors on online behaviour. Options such as educating children on how to responsibly navigate the internet, or the role of parents, teachers and platforms were discussed. The third panel touched on the role of technology by introducing better ways of moderation.

During this event, Point de Contact launched an additional functionality to the hotline’s three reporting tools: it is now possible to capture video streams, allowing the public to report live. Point de Contact will also mark Safer Internet Month by launching two new awareness raising comics focusing on the issues of online hate and terrorism apology. And for those that missed out on the live discussion co-hosted by DG CNECT and DG HOME, on initiatives to protect children and young people online, with the participation of Nikoleta Lydaki Simantiri, the recording will be available until the 7th of March here.