Limavady teens lobby Stormont for greater online protection
Teenagers from Limavady have attended a ‘Stormont Cyber Cafe’ event to call for stronger protections online.
The group from the Dry Arch Children’s Centre met with young people from across Northern Ireland and a range of key stakeholders, including the regulator Ofcom.
The group, called ‘Be Cyber Safe NI’ (BCSNI), was formed in partnership with NSPCC Northern Ireland and CiNI, as part of the NSPCC’s Child Safety Online strategy, to amplify young people’s voices and experiences so they can be heard by decision-makers and those responsible for online safety.
They have been meeting regularly to explore issues related to online safety and outline the key challenges young people face.
BCSNI has identified three priority areas where they feel most focus is needed to improve online safety for young people in Northern Ireland: harmful content and online grooming; privacy and personal data and rules for online companies and app controls.
Phyllis Stephenson, Project Development Manager at NSPCC Northern Ireland, said: “We were delighted to be at Stormont and by listening to the young people and championing their voices, we can support decision makers and those with responsibility for child safety online to keep them right at the heart of solutions to online harm.”
Dr Ernest Purvis, Head of Policy at CiNI, said: “It's been a privilege to work with this incredible group of young people, and a reminder of how essential it is to place their voices at the heart of decision-making. Their experiences and insights are shaping conversations in a way that truly reflects the realities of growing up online.”