Child online safety in the developing world

This page is a work in progress.

About the project

Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society and UNICEF are in the beginning phases of a collaborative research project concerning the online safety risks to children in developing countries. The digital divide between developed and developing countries is narrowing, and while this brings many new opportunities and resources into the lives of young people, it also exposes new groups with less digital literacy to a range of cyber threats.

Many organizations are working to make information and communication technologies (ICT) available to children in developing countries to improve education and quality of life. While some of these groups acknowledge online safety as an issue that should be addressed in the future, this has not, as yet, been targeted as a priority. Because of basic resource constraints, the time and resources of the organizations are instead focused on increasing accessibility of ICT in these communities. We hope that this project will be an opportunity to provide the additional time and resources necessary to work towards solving the safety issues that have been identified but not yet addressed.

Literature review and findings

In June/July 2009, Berkman conducted a preliminary literature review of the existing body of research on these issues. This is a brief summary of some of our key finidngs; we hope to make a PDF version of the full text available soon.

Existing Research

There are few studies or recommendations specifically related to addressing technological safety issues for children in developing nations. Instead, we have approached the issue tangentially by looking to two main bodies of research: those related to technological safety for children in developed nations and those focusing on technological penetration and usage in developing nations. We have found a number of organizations, such as the ITU's Children and Youth Special Initiative, that have emphasized their commitment to ensuring a safe technological environment for children in the developing world, but have found only few organizations with education modules, policy recommendations, or explicit plans of action.

During our preliminary literature review, we found that studies in developed nations indicate that the biggest risks to children online are cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate or illegal material, and sexual or other abuse either over the Internet or in-person.

Responses

There seem to be three main approaches to protecting children online: technological measures, parental supervision, and digital literacy education.

==== Technological measures ====

This category includes any kind of hardware- or software-based tool used to make the browsing experience more secure, such as content filtering, virtual sandboxes, and age/identity verification software. With these methods, it is important to consider issues like scope creep, over- and under-blocking of content, reliability of ID verification, and cost.

==== Parental/Adult supervision ====

Much of the literature and existing curriculum for online safety education focuses on the importance of parental involvement, advising parents and guardians how to protect their children. We must consider that Internet access points for children in the developing world are much more likely to be in a school or Internet cafe instead of the home, where parents are less likely present.

==== Self-protection ====

The third approach centers on educating children about how they can take steps protect themselves online. Most existing digital literacy curricula aimed at children are not sufficiently comprehensive. However, this approach is promising because it helps reduce the reliance on a third party for protection, and can be adaptable from one country to the next based on individualized situations and needs.

Emerging issues

The mobile market has taken off in developing countries, and there are many indications that mobile Internet is soon to follow. This is predicted to be the easiest, most accessible and cost-efficient way to provide Internet access in areas where the information environment is often underdeveloped because of a barriers like lack of infrastructure for fixed-line broadband, lack of accessible computers and electricity, competition, literacy requirements, regulations, and high costs. If the trend develops as expected, this could be a good opportunity to take actions to ensure children use this medium safely as many of them encounter it for the first time, encouraging the spread of best practices.