Europe funds safer surfing initiative

The European Commission is backing new hotlines that allow the public to report spam and other illegal or harmful internet content.

The aim of the four-year Safer Internet Programme is to make surfing less dangerous for children.

The €50m initiative will run from 2005 to 2008 and will provide funding to develop technologies which filter out harmful material at source.

In line with its self-regulatory approach, the Commission plans to get the message across by persuading the public, private and voluntary sectors to prepare hard-hitting safety campaigns.

Its four action lines are:

• Fighting illegal content
• Tackling unwanted and harmful content, including spam
• Promoting a safer environment
• Making parents and teachers more aware of the technology available to protect children when online.

"Children should have the right to use the internet freely to chat, to learn or to play games," said Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen in a statement.

"But to move freely online, children must be protected from the risk of being exploited by adults."