Professor Geoffrey Shannon, the government’s Special Rapporteur for child protection, told the Cyber Threat Summit that the law must keep pace with technology to protect very vulnerable children.
“Children are spending more and more time online and this presents a new regulatory challenge. From a child’s perspective the online world seems remote and anonymous. When kids post material online they are much more vulnerable than adults. They are less likely to be aware of the fact that this may be in existence long-term.
"They may not appreciate the consequences that last long beyond childhood, to when they are looking for a job and information turns up under a Google search.
“Digital harassment is under-reported and under-prosecuted. I’m a strong believer in takedowns but at the moment we have a self-regulated takedown process. Each social media company has a different, ad hoc, process,” he said.
Caroline O’Sullivan of the ISPCC told the conference that online safety is the biggest child protection issue right now and is a factor in practically all of the organisation’s caseload.
“Children contact us distressed and full of anxiety and some reach the point of self-harming [because of what they see online]”.
Because the prevalence on online porn, young teenagers present with both performance anxiety and deep fears about what will be expected of them in the sexual sphere.
Because the prevalence on online porn, young teenagers present with both performance anxiety and deep fears about what will be expected of them in the sexual sphere.
“Our children are completely over-sexualised at a very young age,” she said. “Porn has become part of our children’s lives.
“How can we describe it as a childhood if this is what eight- to ten-year-olds are coming to us to talk about?”
Cyber safety researcher Karen Hand pointed out that while children may have open communication with their parents on many issues, they are reluctant to flag internet dangers because of the fear of a complete online ban.
“Seventy per cent of children say there is good things on the internet. They are afraid the internet will be taken away from them, or limited, and they can’t have that important tool, that way of connecting with their friends, taken away.”
Geoffrey Shannon said that education and awareness raising about the risks, and opportunities, of the online world should be a key priority.
“We need a whole-of-government response, and a strategy on cyber safety...to empower young people to protect themselves.
The plan to start is at the youngest possible age, at creches. There are many positives to technology but we need to recognise the dark side.”
Shannon pointed out that the government has accepted his suggestion that the digital age of consent should be thirteen.
"It’s not about curtailing children’s access to the net, it’s about educating children.
“My view is that the Taoiseach’s department should take the lead on this matter because the consequences of failure to have robust policies and robust laws in place are profound.
“Children are our greatest natural resource. If we don’t protect them from the greatest threat to their welfare, we are failing children,” he said.
Education is more important than regulation and a whole of society approach is required, he concluded.
Meanwhile US whistleblower Edward Snowden addressed the conference from his Moscow apartment and addressed the issues of mass surveillance in modern society: