EU programme leads the way in tackling illegal and harmful web content

An EU programme has been so successful in tackling illegal and harmful content on the internet that it is being used as a model by other regions of the world.

The Safer Internet programme, which has been commended for its effectiveness by an independent evaluation, is now being used as a model in how to tackle harmful online content whilst respecting freedom of expression in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region and in Northern and Latin America.

"We have come a long way and very quickly," said Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media. "For many years the Safer Internet programme has been successfully promoting safer use of internet and other online technologies, particularly by children, and fighting illegal and harmful content ranging from child pornography to racism. The Commission has also encouraged industry to be more proactive in dealing with child safety."

The main achievements of the programme include a European network of 21 national hotlines for end users to anonymously report illegal internet content and the creation of 23 national awareness nodes to promote safer internet use to children, parents and teachers.

According to INHOPE, the International Association of Internet Hotlines, about 65,000 reports were referred to national and international law enforcement agencies during 2005 for further action and investigation.

To consolidate these results, the EU's 'Safer Internet plus' programme (2005-2008) will be promoting 'combined hotlines and awareness nodes'. Pilot projects to encourage cooperation between hotlines and law enforcement agencies will also be funded from 2007 onwards.

The Commission has also called for stronger support from Member States to promote awareness of hotlines among end users and to promote better cooperation between hotlines and other stakeholders, in particular the police and Internet Service Providers.

Children's feedback is essential to identify problems and design appropriate solutions. The new EU-funded project EUkids online aims to improve knowledge of children's behaviour on the internet and their current perception of the risks involved. To strengthen awareness of filtering tools, in particular among parents and schools, the Commission is also funding an assessment of the filtering software and services currently available (SipBench). The first results are expected in December this year.

For further information, please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/
activities/sip/index_en.htm

Copyright ©European Communities, 2006
Neither the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, nor any person acting on its behalf, is responsible for the use, which might be made of the attached information. The attached information is drawn from the Community R&D Information Service (CORDIS). The CORDIS services are carried on the CORDIS Host in Luxembourg – http://cordis.europa.eu.int. Access to CORDIS is currently available free-of-charge.

Most Popular Now

Giving Doctors an AI-Powered Head Start …

Detection of melanoma and a range of other skin diseases will be faster and more accurate with a new artificial intelligence (AI) powered tool that analyses multiple imaging types simultaneously...

AI Agents for Oncology

Clinical decision-making in oncology is challenging and requires the analysis of various data types - from medical imaging and genetic information to patient records and treatment guidelines. To effectively support...

AI Medical Receptionist Modernizing Doct…

A virtual medical receptionist named "Cassie," developed through research at Texas A&M University, is transforming the way patients interact with health care providers. Cassie is a digital-human assistant created by Humanate...

Using Data and AI to Create Better Healt…

Academic medical centers could transform patient care by adopting principles from learning health systems principles, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of California, San Diego. In...

AI Tool Set to Transform Characterisatio…

A multinational team of researchers, co-led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has developed and tested a new AI tool to better characterise the diversity of individual cells within...

AI Detects Hidden Heart Disease Using Ex…

Mass General Brigham researchers have developed a new AI tool in collaboration with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to probe through previously collected CT scans and identify...

Human-AI Collectives Make the Most Accur…

Diagnostic errors are among the most serious problems in everyday medical practice. AI systems - especially large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT-4, Gemini, or Claude 3 - offer new ways...

Northern Ireland Completes Nationwide Ro…

Go-lives at Western and Southern health and social care trusts mean every pathology service is using the same laboratory information management system; improving efficiency and quality. An ambitious technology project to...

Highland Marketing Announced as Official…

Highland Marketing has been named, for the second year running, the official communications partner for HETT Show 2025, the UK's leading digital health conference and exhibition. Taking place 7-8 October...

MHP-Net: A Revolutionary AI Model for Ac…

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer globally and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Accurate segmentation of liver tumors is a crucial step for the management of the...

Groundbreaking TACIT Algorithm Offers Ne…

Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a novel algorithm that could provide a revolutionary tool for determining the best options for patients - both in the treatment...

The Many Ways that AI Enters Rheumatolog…

High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is the standard to diagnose and assess progression in interstitial lung disease (ILD), a key feature in systemic sclerosis (SSc). But AI-assisted interpretation has the potential...