A group of teenagers asked Minister Alexandru Jizdan about safety on the Internet
On Safer Internet Day, a group of teenagers, trained to talk to their peers about online safety, visited the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). During their discussion with state authorities the teenagers were interested in which rules for online browsing Minister Alexandru Jizdan has set for his children, and what is his reaction when Internet users criticize his activity, but also what will the Ministry keep doing to ensure the protection of children in the online space.
As stated by the Minister, the first thing parents can do to protect their children online is to be their friends. The state official told the visitors that at home he usually watches with his children the things they find interesting on the Internet. Thus, Alexandru Jizdan says he manages to stay close to the realities that the new generation is living in.
The Head of the Informational Technology Service of the MIA Andrian Sova, the President of the International Center “La Strada” Ana Revenco, and the Head of the Center for Combating Informational Crimes of the National Inspectorate for Investigation Iurie Cațer also attended the event.
The hosts also told the young visitors about cases of online frauds, or the moments when they were threatened on the Internet. The representatives of the Ministry called teenagers to report to law enforcement authorities the unpleasant online cases that might be crimes. At the same time, the cases of online abuse and violence towards children – harassment, grooming etc. – can be alternatively reported to a consultant on the www.Siguronline.md platform. The Minister of Internal Affairs appreciated the existence of such a platform, created to help the state institutions in assisting citizens. Also, he stated that he resonates with the teenagers’ message that prevention through information should be a priority in the efforts within this field. In this context, Alexandru Jizdan mentioned that he will submit a proposal to his colleagues from other ministries so that the subject of safety on the Internet would be included in their work agenda.
At the same time, the Head of the Informational Technology Service of the MIA Andrian Sova, compared the Child Protection System on the Internet with an antivirus system, which, in order to keep being efficient, should daily update the operational system starting with the newly found threats. And in case of children, it should start with the risks that they are exposed to and their needs for information, guidance and support.
The teenagers who visited the MIA are the tenth generation of volunteers within the “Peer-to-peer” Program of the International Center “La Strada”. They were trained in online safety, and furthermore, they will be the ones to stand in front of other youth in the education institutions in the country, to tell them about how they can stay safe online, and also about how they can report an abuse on www.siguronline.md.