Social Cohesion and Family Minister Sofia Zacharaki, in an interview on Wednesday, referred to the government’s initiatives and interventions at a national and European level for the protection of minors against addiction to and uncontrolled use of the internet and social media.
“Let’s be clear, we are not talking about a total ban, but about a national strategy, a national alliance I would say, in order to protect children against addiction and uncontrolled use through a network of measures and initiatives. The statistics are extremely worrying, as Greece has the highest internet usage by children under the age of 15. Especially in their engagement with online games and social media. An indicative 90% of 13-24 year olds are social media users and spend an average of almost 41 hours a week online,” pointed out Zacharaki.
She underlined that there is no question of a total ban, because there is no possibility of enforcing the ban, and noted that in the government’s plan of interventions, parental control is decisive. As she said “most people know that it is almost impossible in the digital world to implement a total ban. So, first of all, we will proceed to inform parents about the already existing child protection tools. Tools that give the parent the ability to know what media their child is accessing and how to control access.”
She also said that on December 30, the new “tools” for parental supervision and control will be introduced, while at the end of March or the beginning of April, the ‘kids’ wallet’ will be implemented, through which parents will have another way to restrict their child’s access to platforms and social media, in terms of time spent online and content.
Zacharaki added that “the parco.gov.gr platform that will give to parents all the necessary information on the existing settings on their child’s mobile phone for the restriction of its use will come into effect.
“Finally, at the European and national level, there will be the so-called children’s digital rights’ charter.”
The minister stated that Greece is leading the way at a European level, so that the age of 15 is established as the age of “digital adulthood”.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
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