Government urged to appoint a digital safety commissioner

The Government has been urged to appoint a digital safety commissioner who would be tasked with consulting with social media platforms with a view to strengthening their safety policies for children.

In all, the Oireachtas joint committee on children and youth affairs has made 18 recommendations on cybersecurity for young people in a report to be published later today.

“Internet safety and security for children and young adults is one of the most urgent and pressing child protection concerns facing policy makers, parents and guardians, teachers and, most importantly, children and young adults themselves,” said committee chairman Alan Farrell.

Among the other recommendations are:

• The appointment by primary and post-primary schools of teachers as “digital safety ambassadors” who would be provided with supports and training so that students have an appropriate person to approach when issues arise.
• The establishment of a National Strategy on Children’s Cyber Safety outlining the Government’s plans to address and resource issues around cyber safety.
• The formalisation of cyber safety education on both the primary and secondary school curriculums.
• That Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act be repealed and replaced with a new offence of harassment which expressly applies to harassment by all forms of communication including through digital and online communications.