Safer Internet Forum 2017
 

Please see the agenda of the event here. When registering, you will be prompted to select the parallel session you wish to attend.


09.00 – 09.30

Arrival and registration

09.30 – 09.45

Welcome and high-level opening by the EC

Claire Bury, Deputy-Director General, DG CONNECT

09.45 – 11.00

The Alliance to better protect minors online

The Alliance to better protect minors online is a self-regulatory initiative aiming to improve the online environment for children and young people. More than 20 leading ICT and media companies, NGOs and UNICEF officially launched the Alliance on Safer Internet Day 2017. This session will exchange views on how to build on current work and leverage the impact of the Alliance. There will be a multi-stakeholder panel followed by parallel table discussions.

Panellists: Industry and civil society representatives from the Alliance and youth panellists

Chair: Claire Bury, Deputy-Director General, DG CONNECT

11.00 – 11.30

Coffee break

11.30 – 12.45

Children and robotic toys

We are told to expect fundamental changes in human life that will not only apply to adults but, thanks to the emergence of an “internet of toys”, to children and young people too. As more and more aspects of our lives are transformed into computerised data, consideration needs to be given to how we protect young people and provide them with opportunities to grow up in a safe and secure digital world. This session will consider the robotification of childhood by looking at how the interaction between children and connected toys can have an impact on their development, health and wellbeing. The keynote speaker will outline the risks and benefits by focusing on features, processes and consequences.

Keynote speaker: Jochen Peter, University of Amsterdam

Panellists: 

  • Victoria Nash, Oxford Internet Institute
  • Catherine Van Reeth, Toy Industries of Europe
  • David Martin, BEUC

Chair: Patrick Geary, UNICEF

12.45 – 14.00

Lunch break

14.00 – 15.15

A1: Should age determine how we experience the internet? Tensions between protection and participation

Plenary room

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the protection of users, and particularly younger users, is paramount. How can we balance the need for some managed risk to develop resilience against the concerns about exposure to inappropriate or harmful content/contact/conduct? This session will hear from a panel of experts who will consider whether we are moving towards an internet which is fragmented across age groups. They will debate some of the emerging legislation and technical solutions being proposed to protect children and young people online. How can this protection of minors be balanced against the need to make young people more resilient? Two key questions will be considered in the context of three case studies (access to online pornography, user-generated content, and data protection):

1. Should we verify age to control/differentiate the kind of content/applications that children and young people can access online?

2. Can this approach be effective? If so, how?

Panellists:

  • Mark Cole, University of Luxembourg
  • Emil Valdelin, Facebook
  • Anne Mette Thorhauge, Media Council for Children and Young People
  • Silvia Costa, MEP
  • Abhilash Nair, Aston University
Chair: Simone van der Hof, Leiden University

A2: Child sexual abuse images – the tip of the iceberg?

Breakout room

Participants will hear from leading experts about the scale of the challenge being faced in tackling child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. Technology is facilitating the spread of abusive content but is also playing a key role in tackling the challenges. A panel will discuss the way forward and identify the roles of the various European stakeholders involved. What more can/should Member States, law enforcement agencies and industry do? How can advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning be used to address these issues?

Panellists:

  • Fred Langford, IWF
  • Hedwig de Jager, INTERPOL
  • Oscar Pettersson, NetClean
  • Ernesto Caffo, SOS Il Telefono Azzurro Onlus

 Chair: Arda Gerkens, INHOPE

15.15 – 15.45

Coffee

15.45 – 17.00

Building resilience with vulnerable groups

This final plenary session will consider the impact (both positive and negative) of technology on a number of emerging target groups, often considered to be “vulnerable”. Speakers will outline the challenges for each group and then consider how technology can be both a facilitator and an inhibitor.


1.     Migrants

Children and young people from migrant backgrounds often come to (or already live in) Europe with particular sets of socio-cultural experiences and expectations. While technology is often thought to be a facilitator to connect and participate, online risks and opportunities can differ greatly across contexts.


2.     Autism spectrum disorder

Technology and the internet offer endless opportunities for young people when learning, communicating and playing. However, alongside these benefits there are many risks that young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be more vulnerable to.


3.     Vlogger

A film-maker and vlogger will share her story of how she has kept an autobiographical video diary to document her challenges with Trichotillomania, using a range of digital media to raise awareness and harness support for the condition over a 10-year timespan.

Panellists:

  • Nadia Kutscher, University of Cologne
  • Alyssa M. Alcorn, University College London
  • Beckie J. Brown, Film-maker and vlogger

Respondent: Niels-Christian Bilenberg, Centre for Digital Youth Care 

Chair: Anna Rywczyńska, NASK/Safer Internet Centre Poland


17.00

Close of Safer Internet Forum 2017 and reception

Closing remarks: Gail Kent, Director, DG CONNECT


Please note that individual session descriptions, speakers, content and timings may be subject to slight change.