<https://www.rte.ie/author/883835-brian-odonovan/> By Brian O'Donovan
Work & Technology Correspondent
Almost 25% of six-year-olds have their own smartphone, according to a new
survey.
The study, by Amárach, on behalf of online safety charity CyberSafeKids, has
been released to mark Safer Internet Day.
Amárach surveyed 900 parents who have children aged 5-17, found that 45% of
children aged ten can use their smartphone in their bedrooms and shows that
more than half of parents do not feel well-equipped to teach children how to
stay safe online.
A fifth of parents said they feel that the benefits of the internet and social
media outweigh the risks for children.
Over 25% of parents expressed extreme concern about the risk of online
grooming, cyberbullying, and the risk of accessing pornography.
Accessing disturbing content relating to self-harming, and addiction to social
media were also cited by parents as concerns.
A total of 21% of respondents said their child has been purposely excluded from
a group chat or online event, while 18% said their child had been called
offensive names.
CyberSafeKids is launching a new online safety parental campaign called 'Same
Rules Apply' which highlights the need to approach parenting online in the same
way as parenting offline, emphasising that the same rules should be applied in
both worlds.
"It's alarming to find that children as young as five are being allowed to use
smartphones alone in their bedroom," said CyberSafeKids Chief Executive Alex
Cooney.
"Our 'Same Rules Apply' campaign seeks to support parents in approaching
children’s online lives with the same care, attention and supervision that we
apply to their offline lives," Ms Cooney said.
Work on new online safety rules continues amid legal challenges
Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett has said that work on a new Online
Safety Code is continuing amid legal challenges from two platforms.
Last month, Tumblr and Reddit commenced High Court actions against Irish media
regulator Coimisiún na Meán, arguing that they should not be
designated as "video-sharing platforms".
In January, the regulator named the ten platforms that will be covered by its
new Online Safety Code.
They are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Udemy, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest,
Tumblr and Reddit.
Once the new rules are established, they will be legally binding and platforms
will face fines of up to €20m for breaches of the code.
Ms Hodnett said today that she would not comment on matters that are before the
courts but that work on the new safety rules is ongoing.
"The Online Safety Code is a separate process to the designation of
video-sharing platform services so the online safety code process continues,"
she said.
Concerns have been expressed by online safety groups that Snapchat is not
included on the list of designated platforms.
"Our designated platforms are the video-sharing platforms that are established
in Ireland, established in the state, and Snapchat is actually established in
the UK," Ms Hodnett said.
"But, we have close relationships with Ofcom, the UK regulator, and we have
relationships with Snapchat through them," she added.
From 17 February, Coimisiún na Meán will take up its enforcement role under the
EU's set new online safety rules, the Digital Services Act.
"We at Coimisiún na Meán are ready and excited for the Digital Services Act to
be directly applicable, Ms Hodnett said.
"Our office is very much ready, we have stood up a compliance and enforcement
division and we also are establishing a contact centre," she added.
The Online Safety Commissioner was speaking at an event at Microsoft's Dream
Space in Dublin to mark Safer Internet Day.
Minister for Education Norma Foley paid tribute to those who promote the safer
use of the internet by children.
"We acknowledge the great work of our schools," Ms Foley said.
"We salute too the work of Webwise and the Oide Support Service for Teachers,
who provide additional resources and training to schools and webinars for
parents to support them in keeping their children safe on the internet."
"We're also very keen that parents would continue to engage with the guidelines
that have been presented around the use of smartphones for young people in
primary schools," she added.
RTÉ News.
