Commissioner Bruce Adamson lends his support to Safer Internet Day 2021 and this year’s theme of #AnInternetWeTrust, which focuses on making sure children can access reliable information.
Safer Internet Day happens in February every year— this year it falls today, on 9 February.
And this year it focuses on children’s human right to access information which is reliable and good quality, with misinformation increasingly common online.
All children have the right to access good quality and reliable information
The Commissioner said:
“The internet has been a lifeline for children during the Covid pandemic. Children have told us how important being online is in supporting their rights to education, support, play, socialising with friends and in keeping in touch with family. But children tell us about the downsides too. The State has an essential role in ensuring children benefit from internet access, as well as protecting them online.
“All children have the right to access good quality and reliable information from a variety of places and in different ways. Information should always be interrogated rather than just consumed, and it’s important that we support children to consider all aspects of information online including any source and bias. Learning those tools of questioning and fake news spotting is integral to children’s growth and development within in the digital world, and it can also be a lot of fun.”
UNCRC Article 17