Deputy Economy Minister promotes internet safety for adolescents at international conference

Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Guram Guramishvili on Tuesday spoke about the importance of ensuring safety in internet use for children and adolescents as part of the Georgian edition of Safe Internet Day, a conference held in countries around the globe.

At the conference, which was organised by the Ministry, the National Commission of Internet Society and the Communications Commission of Georgia, Guramishvili said the global Covid-19 pandemic had contributed to increase in online activity of adolescents, and noted “various harmful effects” of internet use in cases that involved a “lack of digital skills” in young users.

In the online world, there are threats of cyberbullying, privacy, access to fake information, violent and inappropriate content, internet fraud and other threats that have challenged parents and teachers [...] To overcome this, it is important to ensure a safe connection of the young generation to the online world", Guramishvili said.

He announced a practical guide for parents and carers was being prepared by authorities in cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union to raise awareness and promote child safety online.