"Protecting the physical, mental and moral integrity of children, which might be impaired if they have access to inappropriate contents" and "promoting a safer use of the Internet". These are the goals of the agreement signed between the EU Council and the EU Parliament that will be discussed by the EU Assembly in Strasbourg on October 20th. The MEPs are called to adopt a scheme aimed "at protecting children who use the Internet and other communication technology", including mobile phones. If the EU Parliament says yes, the "Safer internet" scheme would be instantly enforced, would last 5 years and would be funded by 55 million euros. The agreement acknowledges "the benefits provided by the spreading of the Internet" and by the use of new communication technology, but at the same time it deems it necessary to fight the spreading of "contents that are potentially harmful for children", "such as pornography". "Then, effective solutions must be found to prevent adults" luring children through technology "to abuse them" in any way. The funded actions include one to raise public awareness (48% of the funds), such as media education schemes, and those to monitor and make the Internet safer. ” ” ” “
