| Richard Swetenham, European Commission |
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE  Richard Swetenham, Head of the eContent and Safer Internet Unit in the Digital Content and Cognitive Systems Directorate of the Information Society and Media Directorate-General of the European Commission. He has been dealing with the issue of Internet content since mid-1996, when he drafted the Communication on illegal and harmful content in 1996 followed by the Ministerial Declaration of the Bonn Conference on Global Information Networks (the first international conference at a high level dealing with electronic commerce) in 1997. He has been involved with the Safer Internet programme since its inception. He produces QuickLinks, an electronic newsletter on legal and regulatory issues related to the Information Society as well as developments in market and technology. After studying law at Oxford University, he was called to the English Bar in 1974, did a year's pupillage, and then went to Germany on a programme for young foreign lawyers funded by the DAAD. He then studied law in Paris and joined the staff of the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce. In 1981, he became Legal Secretary to the late Lord Mackenzie Stuart, Judge and then President of the European Court of Justice. He joined the European Commission in 1987. He joined DG XIII, now the Information Society Directorate-General, in 1994. From 1994 until the beginning of 2000, he was secretary of the Legal Advisory Board, composed of independent experts in information law. Plenary session: Safer Social Networking Principles In 2008, the Commission convened some of Europe's major social networks as well as researchers and child welfare organizations, to form a European Social Networking Task Force to discuss guidelines for the use of social networking sites by children. The Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU were voluntarily adopted by the industry in February 2009 and have been signed by 20 companies. The document outlines the principles by which SNS providers should be guided as they seek to help minimise potential harm to children and young people, and recommends a range of good practice approaches which can help achieve those principles. There are seven principles: 1. Raise awareness of safety education messages and acceptable use policies to users, parents, teachers and carers in a prominent, clear and age-appropriate manner. 2. Work towards ensuring that services are age-appropriate for the intended audience. 3. Empower users through tools and technology. 4. Provide easy-to-use mechanisms to report conduct or content that violates the Terms of Service. 5. Respond to notifications of Illegal content or conduct. 6. Enable and encourage users to employ a safe approach to personal information and privacy. 7. Assess the means for reviewing illegal or prohibited content/conduct. All signatories have provided self-declarations stating how they have considered the Principles in relation to the Social Networking Services which they offer. The Commission committed to monitor the implementation of this agreement and on Safer Internet Day 2010, in Strasbourg, it presented the findings of an independent assessment reporting on the implementation of the Principles by the signatories. 28 September, Tuesday, 14.30 – 16.30 Presentation title: European Framework for Safer Mobile use by Young Teenagers and Children On Safer Internet Day 6 February 2007, leading mobile operators and content providers signed a European Framework for Safer Mobile use by younger teenagers and children. The Framework describes principles and measures that the signatories committed to implementing on the national level throughout Europe by February 2008, including: access control for adult content; awareness-raising campaigns for parents and children; the classification of commercial content according to national standards of decency and appropriateness; the fight against illegal content on mobiles. In June 2010, GSM Europe has published a third implementation report of the European Framework for Safer Mobile Use by Younger Teenagers and Children. This review shows that 91 companies are putting in place at national level the measures agreed in a Europe-wide voluntary agreement brokered by the European Commission in 2007. National self-regulatory codes based on the European framework existed in 25 Member States, and a further code has since been signed, in Estonia, which means that 96% of all EU mobile subscribers benefit from this agreement. The GSM Europe report includes an executive summary and 24 national reports that look at the way signatories have implemented the national codes based on the European Framework. As an offspring of the European initiative, the industry has announced in April 2008 the launch of www.teachtoday.eu. The website provides teachers and educators with online resources that help them understand the new technologies better.
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