Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection

Wider and more easily available access to the internet and mobile technology provide not only many opportunities for children’s development, but also significant challenges to children’s safety. These Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection provide a framework for the increasingly broad range of companies that develop, provide, or make use of information and communication technologies in the delivery of their products and services. Where domestic laws have not caught up with international laws regarding children’s safety online, businesses have a unique opportunity and responsibility to bring their business practices in line with those standards.

These guidelines are the result of consultations with members of the Child Online Protection (COP) Initiative, which was launched by the International Telecommunication Union. They apply to the safety of children when using information and communication technologies (ICTs). How can industry work to help ensure children’s safety when using the internet? This question and more are addressed in these guidelines.