Safer Internet Day 2023, initiatives in Italy and Big Tech

Today is the 20th edition of the Safer Internet Dayor the world day for safety on the Net established by the European Commission and celebrated in over 100 countries. Like every year, the goal of this event is to empower people – and especially young people – on theconscious use of the internet“but also on everyone’s active and responsible role in creating the Internet as a positive and safe place“.

In Italy this morning a special event is being held promoted by the Ministry of Education and Merit which can be followed at the following link. It focuses on the opportunities and risks of the network.

BLUE PHONE

Blue Phone wanted to present his study for the occasion Between reality and Metaverse. Teenagers and parents in the digital world in which we try to understand theuse of the Internet by the youngest. The research showed that teenagers spend an average of a couple of hours a day on social media and chats, with peaks exceeding 6 hours. It is a growing figure, and here the pandemic has certainly left its mark.

They look for contacts with friends, follow celebrities and influencers, read the news (especially girls) and post their own content. Everything (or almost) from your smartphone. With the risk, however, that this increasingly massive use of connected devices becomes a real addiction: a good percentage of those interviewed admit that without a mobile phone they would feel lost, agitated and alone. One in four then admits to having accessed inappropriate contentviolent, explicit or racist, as well as sensitive topics such as anorexia and bulimia.

POLICE POST

The Postal and Communications Police proposes #heartsconnectedand this year calls as a super witness Marcell Jacobs, the fastest man in the world. Involved 4,000 first and second grade secondary schools with more than 200,000 students. The Minister for sport and young people Andrea Abodi also spoke with him.

Internationally the theme is Together for a better internetwith a special focus on network security for children on the basis of the new strategy dedicated to them in force since May last year and the adoption of the DSA (Digital Services Act).

MICROSOFT

Microsoft returns to be the protagonist of Safer Internet Day after the 2022 edition and publishes the research Global Online Safety Survey 2023: Parents’ and kids’ perceptions of online safety focused on awareness of the use of the network. They have been interviewed 16,000 people between teenagers and parents on the state of digital civilization and online security in 16 countries, including Italy. These are the results:

• 69% of respondents globally have experienced online risk in the last year

  • 80% if you limit the result to the LGBTQ+ population

• 62% of Italian respondents experienced an online risk in the last year

  • 75% if the result is limited to the LGBTQ+ population

• online safety features are used by 81% of parents
• 46% of Italians are less confident
• main risks in Italy: disinformation (49%), violence (32%), personal risks (hate speech, cyberbullying, threats, 30%)
• little perception of parents on the risks that their children can run online
• 62% of Italians who have had an online risk experience tell someone about it

The Redmond firm has fielded Xboxes with Minecraft Education, Privacy Prodigy“learning experience designed to teach teenagers how to handle personal data and how to make informed choices“. The game is divided into areas, in each of these personal information “they come to life as bytes of data in dire need of protection“. The game is interactive, you will learn new cybersecurity concepts as you continue. Privacy Prodigy is in the Minecraft Education game lesson library, Minecraft Bedrock users find the content in the Education Collection on the Minecraft Marketplace.

APPLE

Apple is focusing on the tools available to young people and parents about online safety and privacy. The company makes several available free sessions training courses online and at Apple Stores (including The abc: Children and devices, HERE enrollment). Apps that promote safety, privacy, and parental controls are promoted on the App Store. The main tools that Apple makes available on the subject are also reported:

• function Family checklist in iOS 16
• Usage time with weekly reports on your children’s online activities
• Content and privacy restrictions in Screen Time through which you can block or limit the use of some apps or functions
• ability to limit app downloads to those suitable for children
• Communications security in the Messages app: sending alerts to parents’ smartphones if their children try to send photos with nudity. The Messages app blurs the image.