11 May
On 11 May, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson published her Communication towards member states and industry, calling all for action to protect children better online.
The updated BIK+ strategy is the digital arm of the rights of the child strategy and reflects the recently proposed digital principle that ‘Children and young people should be protected and empowered online. It takes into account the European Parliament Resolution on children’s rights, the Council Conclusions on media literacy and the Council Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee.
The Commission will:
- encourage and facilitate the design of a comprehensive EU code of conduct on age-appropriate design building on the framework provided in the DSA, by 2024;
- issue a standardization request for a European standard on online age assurance / age verification in the context of the eID proposal, from 2023;
- support the development of an EU-wide recognized digital proof of age based on date of birth within the framework of the eID proposal, from 2024;
- include a focus on adult-only content in the planned code of conduct under the gender equality strategy 2020-2025;
- ensure that the 116 111 harmonized number addresses cyberbullying, in cooperation with the EU co-funded SIC helplines, by 2023;
- co-fund the safer internet helplines and hotlines in the EU including those recognized in the future as ‘trusted flaggers’ under the DSA, to assist the public, in particular children, when confronted with harmful and illegal content, from 2022;
- share the recommendations related to (cyber)bullying from the expert group for supporting well-being at school, from 2023;
- map existing research on the impact of neuro-marketing on children by the end of 2022, to support coordinated enforcement activities carried out under the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, from 2023.