Spain promotes with eight other countries the strengthening of the protection of minors on the Internet against pornographic content

Spain has signed, together with eight other countries (Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) a declaration to promote global initiatives aimed at strengthening the online protection of minors.

The declaration has been signed within the framework of the Paris Forum for Peace, whose third edition is held this Friday and Saturday (10 and 11 November) in Paris and in which heads of State and major international organizations work with the private sector and civil society to develop multilateralism and collective actions.

The commitment of the nine countries to strengthen the protection of minors on the Internet is in line with the various initiatives and measures adopted in recent years to address this issue, such as the legal instruments and policies implemented to safeguard the rights and interests of minors in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In particular, the statement highlights the UK Online Safety Bill Project and the Child Rights Strategy and the EU Digital Services Act, initiatives that have provided international guidance on how to ensure a safe digital environment for children.

Protection against harmful content: pornography, cyberbullying or abuse

The signatory countries express their determination to effectively strengthen the protection of minors on the Internet, focusing on highly effective privacy that ensures online verification and estimation of the age of minors, especially to prevent the early exposure of minors to pornographic content.

In this regard, the initiatives, both legislative and political measures, undertaken by different European countries and the Member States of the European Union together with the European Commission, the United Kingdom and the private sector are recognized in order to take them as a reference for progress in the matter.

The consensus on promoting the online protection of minors has been reached in the face of the increasing exposure of minors to harmful content, in particular pornographic content only for adults, cyberbullying, content that leads to self-injurious or violent behavior.

The focus is also on the prevention of content related to areas with greater exposure among minors related to social and psychological problems, online sexual abuse, excessive data collection in the use of digital services and applications, as well as excessive use of the screen.

One in three children worldwide has been exposed to pornographic content before the age of 12, and one third of children report being targeted for cyberbullying. According to the latest available data, online child sexual abuse content almost doubled between 2017 and 2019.

Spain joins the Laboratory for the Protection of Minors on the Internet

Likewise, Spain has joined the Laboratory for the Protection of Minors on the Internet, created by France in 2022 and which aims to explore, promote, develop and evaluate solutions that increase the safety of minors online.

Among the priorities for the experiments to be carried out in 2024 is the fight against cyberbullying in schools. The Laboratory works in the exchange of information, knowledge, experiences and practices, as well as in the promotion of research to effectively address issues affecting minors on the Internet.

In particular, it focuses on the identification of effective technical, organisational or educational tools that guarantee the protection of fundamental rights. To this end, the participants of the Laboratory, including governments, civil society organizations and private companies, undertake a series of commitments.

Commitments include participation in laboratory activities and support, directly or indirectly, for experiments by participating in selection and evaluation processes, as well as a commitment to take the results of experiments into account when developing policies and good practices.

Likewise, participants are committed to supporting the development of frameworks, good industry practices and design principles oriented to security and privacy.

The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union is pushing the Artificial Intelligence regulation to preserve democratic rights and values in the new digital economy, including the protection of minors with measures such as the establishment of watermarks to prevent identity theft and sexual crimes related to AI.