Tag: internet safety

By overwhelming majority, the European Parliament yesterday (22 October) approved a new programme to make the Internet safer for children. The initiative builds on a 2005 'Safer Internet' plan by encompassing newer Web 2.0 communication services like social networking.

The fight against child abuse over the Internet is often hampered by data protection rules, but a joint effort between privacy authorities, financial institutions and Internet services providers can ensure significant results in line with national laws, according to a new report.

New user-friendly technologies have made the Internet more interactive, turning millions of users into content creators and increasing the services available online. The changes introduced have created a kind of second-generation Internet - the so-called Web 2.0.

Next generation search engines may work not only with text but also with images thanks to new technologies for visual content retrieval developed by Vitalas, a European Commission-funded project whose prototype system will be tested from next week by Exalead, the fourth biggest search engine in the world.

Security in the online world is essential for the internet to realise its economic potential - but experts agree that there is no simple solution to a problem that has multiple dimensions: technological, societal, economic and psychological.

The EU will prioritise the future governance of the internet and financial mechanisms for bridging the digital divide between industrial nations and developing countries. 

During its meeting of 25 March the Telecoms Council adopted a Resolution on the accessibility of public websites, discussed eEurope 2005 and approved the '.EU' domain name.