Protection of Children in the Digital Environment
SocietyUlaanbaatar, April 4, 2023 /MONTSAME/. On April 3, the Standing Committee on Social Policy of the State Great Khural of Mongolia organized a discussion on the topic "Protection of Children in the Digital Environment."
The
discussion was moderated by Member of Parliament B. Jargalmaa, and Member of
Parliament B. Bayarsaikhan, the initiator of the Law on Protection of
Children's Rights in the Digital Environment, delivered the main presentation. In addition, M.
Naranzul, Head of the
non-governmental organization "Edit learning hub", made a speech on
the topic "Digital environment and children's safety", and J. Erkhembaatar, the Deputy Minister
of Digital Development and
Communications, gave a speech on the topic "Child protection and legal
environment in the digital environment."
Member of Parliament
B. Bayarsaikhan pointed out that we
are benefiting from digital technology and electronic communication, but in
this environment, how to protect human rights, including the rights of children
who are unable to defend themselves, is becoming one of the pressing problems
facing all around the world. It was reported that countries had already
developed their policies for the protection of children's rights in the digital
environment and have passed laws with detailed regulations. In 2016, when the
Law on Child Protection was approved, the issue of protecting children's rights
in the digital environment was included as a chapter, but it was excluded
during the discussion and could not be reflected in the law. She mentioned this
in her report and said that international organizations and consultants always
recommend to immediately approve and implement the law on the protection of
children's rights in the digital environment. She presented survey results of
domestic and foreign research organizations and institutions on how children's
rights are violated in the digital environment, and touched upon the fact that
children are subjected to many forms of violence such as insults, exclusion,
bullying, harassment, attempts of sexual exploitation in the digital
environment.
According to her, 92
children committed suicide in 2012-2016 due to digital discrimination and
harassment. Also, according to the results of the national baseline survey,
82.5 percent of children under the age of 18 have been bullied by peers, and 37
percent have received lewd or threatening chats or messages from strangers digital.
In addition, according to the statistics of the CyberTips database on the study
of cyber-sexual exploitation of children by the International Organization for
Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, in 2019-2020, cybercrime increased by
28 percent globally, while it increased by 132 percent in Mongolia. "It is
a pressing issue that need exigent attention," she said. She warned that
these statistics indicate that the problem of children's safety in the digital
environment has reached a serious level. She asked the panelists whether to
pass an independent law on this matter, and presented the draft law that she
had developed and uploaded to the Parliament's electronic system
www.d.parliament.mn, which is receiving opinions from citizens and the public.
M. Naranzul, Head of
"Edit learning hub" NGO, confirmed the situation she mentioned again in her speech
"Electronic environment and children's safety." She emphasized the
danger posed by the digital environment to Mongolian children, especially little
children. Little children develop attention deficit disorder by watching videos
such as Cocomelon with hyperstimulating or overly stimulating content on social
networks, and very short (1-2 seconds), high rhythm, while psychoactive
characters such as Momo, which appear in the middle of YouTube videos, scare
children, make them restless and depressed. At the same time, it creates risky
situations encouraging self-harming and suicide by flying from a height, and convincing
them that their families hate them. Recently, the content of Haggy Waggy, which
is popular among young children, not only uses offensive and vulgar language,
but also involves the use of bloody murders, dangerous weapons and knives.
M. Naranzul mentioned that in the world, especially in developed countries, considerable budgets and funds are spent on measures to ensure the safety of children in the digital environment, including measures to protect the mental and psychological health of children. She pointed out that websites report a lot of dark news about violence, murder, immorality and degradation, which has a negative effect on the psychology of children. She gave an example of the fact that children suffer from psychological, spiritual and mental injuries from a small age.
J. Erkhembaatar,
Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Communications, in his speech "Child Protection and
Legal Environment in the Electronic Environment", stated based on facts
that the use of social networks by Mongolians has doubled from the
"normal, safe and appropriate" level, including the use of social
media by children is 96 percent. He said that behind this number, which can be
said to be 100 percent, there are social media tools that do not operate in
Mongolia and are always connected from foreign countries, which is a problem.
He also said that children who use social networks spend too much time on the
Internet, open two or more accounts, escape from the control of their parents,
and use the Internet without the knowledge and skills to ensure their own
safety, which is the root cause of the problem. He said that according to their
obligations under child protection and other laws, Mongolian government
agencies are doing certain things, but as of today, there are no significant
results other than blocking the offending websites. In his speech, the Deputy
Minister noted that the legal framework for the protection of children's rights
in the digital environment is insufficient, and expressed his opinion that it
is necessary to issue an independent law and implement detailed regulations.
Representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, Department of Family, Children and Youth Development, General Police Department, Telecommunications Regulatory Department, and activists of non-governmental organizations working in the field of child rights protection participated in the discussion.