UNKNOWING children are more liable to become
targets and victims of pornography, kidnapping, rape, deception, drug mules or
even children trafficking by adult predators and cybercriminals.
This is
due to the increase in social networking as poses risks and threats to children
where their identities and privacy are liable to be intruded in cyberspace said
Minister of Communications Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato
Seri Setia Hj Abdullah Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar in his keynote speech
at the launching of the Child Online Protection (COP) Framework Workshop yesterday
afternoon.
With
the increase in internet usage among Bruneians, YB Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah also
said that children have embraced the internet and technologies so well that it
has become an important part of their daily lives. He cited researching for
school papers, chatting with friends, sharing videos and photos, playing
interactive games as reasons for internet use among children.
However,
given "the amount of content available on the internet, knowingly and
unknowingly, these children could stumble upon unsuitable materials such as
pornography, violent videos and images, or sexually explicit content and
gambling while surfing through the internet," the Minister said.
With
recent publications citing Brunei as the top user in the social network,
Facebook with 59.25 per cent compared to Singapore who is considered to be the
most wired country but is three places behind Brunei.
The
Communication Minister highlighted that online safety for children must be
given a priority especially when young children have access to social networks
too.
He
further emphasised that children "are exposing themselves by posting their
personal IDs, emotions, location and images on social networking."
In
which, the very same information could be taken advantage by unscrupulous
people who are targeting these young children, he said.
"This
has caused a rising concern not only among parents but teachers as well,"
he added.
Through
the COP Framework Workshop, key stakeholders both public and private sectors,
as well as the non-government organisations who are involved in this issue will
be able to come together and discuss further on how to protect children online.
YB
Pehin Dato Hj Abdullah also said that "most agree that protecting children
requires multi-pronged approach with parental or adult supervision as the key
component" but added that "we also have a clear role to play" by
"(addressing) issues on policy changes, industry regulation, legislative
needs as well as monitoring and educating the young people."
He
strongly suggested that the Ministry of Communications also needs to build a
secure and safe environment for our people to access the cyberworld,
emphasising the importance of safeguarding children's online experience and
activities.
The
Minister placed his personal hope to see a strong collaboration between all
stakeholders involved with the workshop and that they come up with their own
key initiatives. The two day workshop, which is organised by the Authority for
Info-Communication Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) ends today.
ANNA
ABU BAKAR
The
Brunei Times
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