A collaborative effort that includes multiple stakeholders − regulators, platform providers, educators, civil society and parents − is required to safeguard children online.
This was the recurring theme at a recent industry event, hosted by Netflix SA. It brought together industry to discuss issues around child online safety, find best practice solutions and provide guidance.
The event also served as an opportunity for the streaming service provider to highlight the importance of having parental controls in place to protect children from harmful content.
Access to online platforms has increased the scale and scope of the threats children face online.
Furthermore, the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has increased the risk of bad actors behaving inappropriately, enabling the harmful production and distribution of child sexual abuse and exploitation in the virtual world.
In 2023, a WeProtect Global Alliance threat assessment report found that child sexual exploitation and abuse online continued to escalate worldwide, with the volume of reported abuse material cases having increased by 87% since 2019.
The report also found that since early 2023, cases of perpetrators using GenAI to create child sexual abuse material and exploit children have been on the increase.
Speaking at the event, Shola Sanni, director of public policy for Sub-Saharan Africa at Netflix, said the digital age has unlocked unprecedented opportunities, with learning/education enrichment, and access to information and entertainment content.
According to Sanni, the internet, digital services and digitisation have democratised access to information and entertainment, allowing people to travel to new places, explore different cultures and engage with different languages.
However, unprecedented access to this powerful tool requires great responsibility. “As parents, educators, policymakers and media, we must all ensure that while the doors to knowledge remain open, they must also be safe.
“The internet, with all its vast resources, poses risks, especially to our younger, vulnerable audiences. It is imperative that we prioritise online child safety and protect children from premature exposure to age-inappropriate content.
“One of the mistakes weoften encounter is a tendency to almost vilify everything internet-related oreverything digital. The evil is not the internet; it’s usually the humanelement − exploiters and predators. It’s the use to which the internet is put and the inappropriateness of early exposure for children in some contexts.”
Sanni noted Netflix has invested in the necessary technology to guarantee the safety of viewers, especially the younger ones.
“Safeguarding children online, just like offline, is a collective effort. Offline, they say it takes a village to protect children. Similarly, I don’t think it would take less than the village to do so online, but parents and caregivers are the frontline of that effort.
“Parents must take an active role in their children’s online activities, utilise the available safety features and have open conversations about online behaviour and content consumption.”
Department of Communications and Digital Technologies director-general (DG) Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani commented that the digital economy era calls for greater responsibility in how a society treats its children.
The DG said people must be conscious of the opportunities that are there, but equally responsive when taking on the task.
“As the champion of digital transformation in the country, the first thing is that we have to embrace this technology. As we embrace it, we have to be conscious of the inherent risks. However, we cannot run away from the reality that we are living in a digital age and that society has evolved – there are so many opportunities out there.
“Equally, there are those among us who act as counter-agents and provide the risks that are there.”
According to Jordan-Dyani, South Africans spend 56% of their awake time on social media, with children devoting an equal amount of time to these platforms. “This reality raises concerns in terms of the extensive exposure to media and the effect it has from a positive and negative perspective.
“As parents and caregivers, we are sometimes unaware of what our children are exposed to…we need to be more conscious of what they consume and guard the safety settings and put in the responsible features on their devices.
“From a regulatory perspective, we have asked the regulators under our portfolio to work together, so that we are able to see the gaps between the various regulatory [frameworks], to ensure child protection, as well as fight online gender-based abuse.
“Government, regulators and the public also need to work together to create awareness in our homes, communities, schools and overall environment.”
During a panel discussion at the event, various best practices for protecting children in the digital age were discussed, as well as steps parents and caregivers can take to ensure children thrive, while being protected from online risks.
The panellists also addressed how regulatory frameworks can address online harm to children without limiting their rights or access.
Julia Davidson, professor of criminology at the University of East London, said: “The online risks we face in society are a global, multi-stakeholder issue and need to be treated as such, not in silos.
“We need to collaborate to ensure there are legislations across jurisdictions. Effective education and awareness are also key. As cyber issues evolve, so should the way we approach and resolve the challenges we face.”
Commenting on how parents can have cyber-risk conversations with children, educational psychologist Dr Tshepiso Matentjie stated: “Parents simply need to take charge. The reality is that a lot of parents are intimidated by technology.
“They are required to let go of the idea of being an expert in this case, and to be teachable, opening themselves to modern online platforms to teach and challenge them. Once they have a hold of this, they can take on an advisory and guardian role to their children.”
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