More consideration for children and youngsters on the Internet

jugendschutz.net calls for the compliance with the laws concerning the protection of minors on the internet and makes sure that content providers modify problematic content, delete it or make it inaccessible for children and youngsters. The second main focus is the recommendation and promotion of safe and good websites for children.

jugendschutz.net is the cross-national bureau for the protection of minors on the internet in Germany. The German Youth Ministries founded jugendschutz.net in 1997. Since 2003, jugendschutz.net is organizationally assigned to the Commission for Youth Protection in the Media (KJM) in order to provide for a consistent control of broadcasting and internet. jugendschutz.net is member of the international networks INHOPE and INACH.

POSCON Network Member:

Ulrike Behrens, jugendschutz.net

What is your / your institution´s interest /objective for being part of POSCON?

There are a lot of good children’s websites and apps in Europe and it is important to support their further development, their visibility and their networking. Children in Europe should have the opportunity to make positive experiences on the internet and get to know good websites appropriate for their age and interests, also from other countries and in different languages.

Via POSCON we will learn a lot about good services and content in other European countries; the results will offer practical improvements for our websites and projects to achieve more “European” versions, e.g. new international widgets and recommendations.

What is your / your institution´s interest regarding positive content in general?

jugendschutz.net pursues a dual approach to reach safety for children on the internet:

• Reduce the risks and threats for children: take potential action and call for a culture of joint responsibility and
• Recommendation and promotion of good websites: create special surroundings for children to surf the internet and communicate safely and, promote media literacy

jugendschutz.net has been intensively engaged in promoting positive content for children for several years, e.g. with the website www.meine-startseite.de (“My homepage”) and the platform www.klick-tipps.net. The projects use innovative technical implementation to achieve content syndication, establish a common platform and by this provide easy access for children leading them to “their” websites.

What are your wishes regarding positive content and services for children?

We hope that POSCON will highlight the impact and current chances for positive content and services for children on the internet. It will provide practical support for parents and teachers, sensitize providers for the protection of minors and support networking of providers of children‘s websites.

And, it will foster the exchange of European children’s websites and services and bring together children in Europe.