State and Legal Policy for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment

Abstract

Digital technology and the Internet have made our lives much easier by providing opportunities to work, study, and shop online. Today half of humanity uses the Internet and social networks, which have brought risks and dangers despite significant benefits. In the digital environment the most vulnerable category of population are children, who may be victims of cyber-violence, especially cyberbullying or sexting According to the results of an anonymous survey among students, we were able to find out that 54% of respondents had faced cyberbullying. As for sexting, about 50% of interviwed had received an offer to send their intimate photo / video, but only 20% of them agreed. During our research we tried to find out the reasons for the growth of cyberbullying in the digital environment, as well as ways to counter online harassment. According to the respondents, criminalization of counteracting cyberbullying and sexting, as well as proper state policy should be the most effective method. It should include the development of relevant regulations, various campaigns to protect children from cyberbullying, the creation of hotlines for victims of cyberbullying and so on. The public authority which is responsible for developing of the children's digital rights and ensuring their safety in the digital environment is the Ministry of Digital Transformation. It has proposed the Concept for the Development of Digital Rights of Children, which provides with the implementation of many measures to protect children`s rights in the digital environment, including the criminalization of cybergrooming.