The protection of minors in the digital age
| Autor | Fernanda Rebelo |
| Cargo del Autor | Universidad Portucalense |
| Páginas | 269-285 |
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The protection of minors in the digital age
Protección de los menores en la era digital
Fernanda REBELO
Universidad Portucalense
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4598-1629
Resumen
This paper argues that minors are not well protected in the digital age. Because of
their vulnerability they are more exposed to the dangers and threats when using the
Internet. The main objective of this paper is to find out if the development of ICT respects
the children’s rights and contributes to their protection and well-being. The paper argues
what has been done to protect them and ensure their rights to access and use digital
media; at the same time, it intends to outline the next steps needed to strengthen it. These
objectives are achieved through literature review and analysis of legal instruments in a
theoretical and descriptive approach. The empirical methodologies used are based on
studies of children between the ages of 8 and 16 years and show that children are not
only addicted to communicating through social networks, but also have very dangerous
behaviours putting them and the rest of the family in danger. The results show that
age restrictions on the Internet are ineffective against illegal content and result in the
clandestine use of many online services, leading children to lie about their age to use
prohibited sites. In conclusion, the parents and educators cannot be apart from the
changes that technological innovations cause in children. It is imperative to discuss the
need to invest in the education of the youngsters, teaching them how to deal with the
digital world and their commitment to combat illegal and inappropriate content.
Keywords: Digital age, illegal digital content, Internet, protection of minors,
vulnerability.
Abstract
El presente estudio sostiene que los menores no están bien protegidos en la era
digital. Debido a su vulnerabilidad, están más expuestos a los peligros y amenazas de la
Internet. El objetivo del estudio es averiguar si el desarrollo de las aplicaciones de las
TIC respeta los derechos de los niños y contribuye a su protección y bienestar. El trabajo
discute lo que se ha hecho para garantizar sus derechos de acceso y uso de los medios
digitales. Estos objetivos se logran mediante la revisión de la literatura y el análisis de
instrumentos legales, en un enfoque teórico y descriptivo. Las metodologías empíricas
utilizadas se basan en estudios de niños entre las edades de 8 y 16 años, y demuestran
que los niños no solo son adictos a la comunicación a través de las redes sociales, sino
que también tienen comportamientos muy peligrosos, lo que afecta a ellos y al resto
de la familia. Los resultados muestran que las restricciones de edad en Internet no son
efectivas contra el contenido ilegal y que el uso clandestino de muchos servicios en línea
lleva a los niños a mentir acerca de su edad para utilizar sitios prohibidos. En conclusión,
Fernanda REBELO
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los padres y los educadores no pueden mantenerse alejados de los cambios que las
innovaciones tecnológicas provocan en los niños. Es imperativo discutir la necesidad de
invertir en la educación de los jóvenes, enseñándoles cómo lidiar con el mundo digital y su
compromiso de combatir el contenido ilegal e inapropiado.
Palabras clave: Contenidos digitales ilícitos, era digital, Internet, protección de los
menores, vulnerabilidad.
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper focuses on the protection of minors –children below the age of
eighteen years– in the digital age. The problem is that children constitute a
particularly vulnerable group, which is therefore more exposed to the emerging
problems of the digital environment –the Internet, platforms and social networks–
and subject to dangers and threats in many ways. As Livingstone, Carr & Byrne
(2016) explained, an estimated one third of the Internet users are children. The
overall objective is to research the children’s internet and mobile use.
To do this, the paper examine either the risks and the challenges posed to
children, recognized as a substantial group of Internet users, and argue what
has been done to protect them and ensure their rights to access and use digital
media, such as the the rights to privacy online and data protection regulation;
at the same time, it intends to outline the next steps needed to strengthen it
(Magriço, Simões, Patrão & Morais, 2018).
It is important to understand how the risk of children been harmed in the
digital environment can be reduced as well as how their chances and opportunities
in this field could be increased. The Internet and other ICTs have a great potential to
improve children’s access to education and learning, information and digital literacy,
participation and play. The risks pointed are the grooming sexual abuse and sexual
exploitation including child pornography, bullying and harassment, advertising and
marketing (Livingstone, Carr & Byrne, 2016).
These objectives were achieved through the study of the European
programs about information, audiovisual and communications technologies,
in a theoretical and descriptive approach, as well as the analysis of legislation,
especially the European directives and regulations on the protection of minors.
As for the empirical methodologies used, these were based on studies carried
out on children between the ages of 8 and 16 years.
It is hoped to ascertain whether, and in what measure, the minors are
effectively exposed to risks when browsing the Internet or attending social
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