Spanish government law to protect minors online is on right track but needs ambition and consensus

proteger-a-los-menores

The European Association for Digital Transition (EADT) takes a positive view on the draft law to protect minors in the digital realm, presented on June 4, 2024 following the Council of Ministers meeting. But all these measures could end up being ineffective if they are not implemented ambitiously, demanding accountability from platforms and online services, and with political consensus above and beyond partisanship. “It is not about pressuring companies just because, but rather about protecting children and adolescents from specific phenomena that are very dangerous”, says Ana Caballero, vice president of the EADT and spokeswoman for the organisation on issues affecting minors.

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Chaired by Ana Caballero, the group of experts to regulate protecting minors on the Internet gets to work

ana-caballero-el-grupo-de-expertos

The group of fifty experts convened by the Ministry of Youth and Children to improve the protection of minors in the digital realm, chaired by Ana Caballero, had its first meeting on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Its job is to develop a roadmap that, in the coming months, will be the basis for the subsequent report on the protection of minors, adolescents and young people in the digital environment. Special interest will be placed on phenomena such as cyberbullying, the effect of social media on adolescent mental health or the access to extreme content.

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Key points from the presentation in Congress of the State Pact to protect minors in the digital realm

presentacion-en-el-congreso-del-pacto-de estado

The State Pact to protect minors in the digital realm – an initiative promoted by the European Association for Digital Transition (EADT) – continues to gain momentum. On February 13, 2024, the EADT organised a presentation of the proposal with a symposium in the Congress of Deputies, which was inaugurated by the president of the Chamber, Francina Armengol.

It was a full morning of work and reflection, structured around several roundtables and speeches. Below please find a summary and videos from the three roundtables, as well as the final speeches by the president of the EADT, Ricardo Rodríguez Contreras, and the minister of Youth and Children, Sira Rego.

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Advocates for the State Pact to protect minors in the digital realm call for regulations and measures that go beyond pornography

promotores_del_pacto_de_estado

Advocates for the State Pact to protect minors in the digital realm – the European Association for Digital Transition, Dale una Vuelta, Fundación ANAR, iCMedia, Save The Children and UNICEF España – presented their initiative on Tuesday, February 13, in the Congress of Deputies with a symposium entitled “The protection of minors in the digital realm: a social and political challenge”. The event aimed to strengthen consensus and encourage the participation of civil society in the face of political and legislative initiatives expected over the coming months, following the announcement of a law to prevent minors from accessing pornography and the creation, from the Ministry of Youth and Children, of a working group of experts in which several of these organizations form part, among them the European Association for Digital Transition itself.

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The Spanish government wants to prevent minors from accessing porn: they’re right, but we need to go much further

acceso-de-menores-al-porno

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced that the government wants to approve a law to prevent minors from accessing pornographic content online. It is, to date, the most important step forward in a political debate that has been growing ever louder in recent months, and in which the European Association for Digital Transition has been involved from the start.

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The State Pact proposal to protect minors in the digital realm now has a website: pactomenoresdigitales.org

pactomenoresdigitales

The proposal for a state pact to defend minors in the digital realm now has its own website. At www.pactomenoresdigitales.org, associations, foundations, regulators and citizens can find all the information about this civil society initiative, which is designed to provide a basis for consensus regarding the problems children and adolescents are facing in digital environments.

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The Attorney General’s Office joins the State Pact proposal to protect children and adolescents in the digital realm

fiscalia-general-del-estado

The proposal for a state pact to defend minors in the digital realm has new institutional support: the Juvenile Unit of the Attorney General’s Office (FGE in its Spanish abbreviation). The Juvenile Unit, led by chief prosecutor Eduardo Esteban, is joining this civil society initiative, the result of a consensus between six entities – the European Association for Digital Transition (EADT), promoter of the initiative, plus Save The Children, Fundación ANAR, iCMedia, Dale la Vuelta and UNICEF – and which already has support from the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD).

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Vulnerable minors on the Internet: Foundations get activated and look to Congress

menores vulnerables en internet

This past June, six civil society organisations – the European Association for Digital Transition, EADT, promoter of the initiative, plus UNICEF, Save the Children, Dale una vuelta, iCMedia and the Fundación Anar – presented, with institutional support from the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), a proposal for a state pact to protect minors in the digital world.

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We need children to have a healthier digital life: The role of Foundations

We need children to have a healthier digital life: The role of Foundations

Social awareness on the risks minors face in the digital world is growing stronger. After years of taking uncritical positions, public opinion is increasingly aware that access by children and adolescents to the Internet, especially with mobile phones, involves characteristics that must be taken into account.

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The case of minors on the Internet and social networks: a presence in the July 23 electoral campaign

menores-en-internet-y-las-redes-sociales

Spanish society is increasingly more aware that improper use of the Internet and social networks by minors is a growing problem that must be faced resolutely. This is why the issue has entered the electoral campaign debate for the upcoming elections on July 23rd.

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