A REVIEW has been launched over a “major concern” of how safe young Islanders are online.
The review, which is being carried out by the Children’s, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, will examine the measures in place to protect young people from online harm, look at regulations that might be applicable to Jersey, and scrutinise whether Jersey is meeting obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child.
Panel chair Deputy Catherine Curtis said: “We decided to launch this review to ascertain the level of protection children in Jersey have when accessing the internet. We are aware that keeping our children safe online is a major concern for Islanders – one that is a constantly evolving problem given the nature of technology.
“The panel has undertaken this review to ensure that Jersey’s laws and regulations meet best-practice principles and have the required flexibility built into them to adapt to the changing digital landscape.
She added: “We are keen to understand the role that social media platforms and internet service providers play in the protection of children, as well as the policy measures our government departments have in place.”
The panel held a public hearing in October last year on the subject of “online safety for children in Jersey”, which sought to understand the government’s reasoning for not requesting a permissive-extent clause for the UK’s Online Safety Act.
Following that hearing, the panel agreed that it would like to focus on this “important issue” further, according to a statement.
Recommendations were also made around the safety of children following the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry report in 2017.
A JEP investigation last year revealed the ease at which children as young as 15 were able to purchase drugs online via apps like Snapchat and Telegram.
The panel will hold public hearings with ministers as part of its review. It will also be seeking the views of Jersey’s children’s commissioner, teaching unions and social-media platforms.
It aims to present its report along with key recommendations for ministers this summer.
