Child safety, privacy, and school device bans

Timeline

1. 4 days ago

   [POLITICS] 4 sources

   School Mobile Phone Ban Proposals in Serbia and Czech Republic

   Serbia and the Czech Republic are each considering laws to bar mobile phone use in schools, with storage requirements and limited exemptions, sparking debate over safety and learning impacts.

2. 6 days ago

   [POLITICS] 3 sources

   Czech government backs EU chat‑control exemption, bans school phones

   Czech authorities approved an EU‑wide chat‑control exemption for voluntary content monitoring and banned mobile phones in schools to curb cyber‑risk and protect children.

3. 10 days ago

   [POLITICS] 33 sources

   Czech Republic to ban smartphones in schools from 2027

   Czech government plans a nationwide ban on smartphones and smartwatches in schools from Sept 2027, covering classes, breaks and after‑school activities; opposition says it’s unnecessary and may harm student‑te‑

4. 11 days ago

   [TECHNOLOGY] 3 sources

   France confronts growing online privacy breaches and legal remedies

   France's legal guide details recourse for data leaks and non‑consensual content, while experts warn parental oversharing creates a generational privacy curse.

5. 12 days ago

   [POLITICS] 6 sources

   Czech government moves to ban mobile phones in schools

   Czech PM Babiš and Education Minister Plaga propose a nationwide ban on student mobile phones, covering all school time, with limited medical exemptions; child ombudsman opposes it.

6. 17 days ago

   [HEALTH] 2 sources

   WHO and France call for global mandatory age verification on internet

   WHO chief Tedros and French President Macron issued a joint statement calling for mandatory government‑ID age verification for all internet users, framing digital platforms as a health issue and warning of the‑

7. 19 days ago

   [POLITICS] 2 sources

   EU and Czech officials face criticism over child social‑media bans, experts call for regulation over prohibition

   European officials, led by the Czech Republic, debate child social‑media bans; experts say blanket prohibitions fail and urge algorithm regulation and safety features instead.

8. 20 days ago

   [POLITICS] 2 sources

   Czech children’s ombudsman Martin Beneš rejects blanket mobile phone ban in schools

   Czech ombudsman Martin Beneš criticizes the government’s plan, backed by PM Andrej Babiš and Education Minister Robert Plaga, to impose a nationwide ban on mobile phones in schools starting September 2027, deem

9. 23 days ago

   [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources

   Child Protection Groups Highlight Platform Design Flaws and Exploitation Risks

   Groups warn that platform designs outpace parental control and detail rising child sexual exploitation, noting a 73% complaint increase and tactics like grooming and false promises.

10. 24 days ago

    [HEALTH] 3 sources

    US Youth Mental Health Survey Finds Tech Bans Insufficient

    A US survey of 2,000 voters and parents shows most oppose tech bans for youth, favouring comprehensive mental‑health strategies and digital‑literacy education.

11. 25 days ago

    [HEALTH] 2 sources

    France and WHO urge stricter digital platform rules to safeguard children

    France’s Macron and WHO chief Tedros call for global digital platform regulation to protect children from algorithmic harms, citing weak enforcement of age bans and recent legal actions against tech firms.

12. 30 days ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 9 sources

    US Adults Favor Ban on Social Media for Under‑16s Amid Global Push

    A Pew survey shows 56 % of U.S. adults back a ban on social media for under‑16s, mirroring global moves like Australia’s 2025 law and EU age‑verification pushes, amid regulator warnings and recent lawsuits.

13. about 1 month ago

    [CRIME] 6 sources

    Dominican Republic judges warn of digital child exploitation

    Dominican judges and prosecutors warned that 98% of child exploitation cases start online, detailing grooming tactics, gaming and click‑farm abuses, and urging victim‑centred justice.

14. about 1 month ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    Vietnam launches national plan to combat online human trafficking and fraud

    Vietnam’s vice‑premier signed a decision to roll out a national plan against online human‑trafficking scams, boosting detection, hotlines, victim aid and cooperation across ministries.

15. about 1 month ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources

    Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš pushes nationwide school mobile phone ban

    Czech PM Andrej Babiš will table a law to ban mobile phones in schools from 2027, extending existing restrictions despite ministry saying no blanket ban was planned; the move formalizes rules that already cover

16. about 1 month ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    Vietnam launches crackdown on high‑tech human‑trafficking networks

    Vietnam’s 2026‑2027 campaign targets high‑tech fraud and human‑trafficking, using media outreach, hotlines and legal action to protect victims and prosecute offenders.

17. about 1 month ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources

    Vietnam police summer‑camp scam warns parents

    Vietnam police warn parents that scammers are posing as official summer camps, demanding fees and personal data, and urge verification before payment.

18. about 1 month ago

    [POLITICS] 5 sources

    Czech experts and government clash over bans on children's social media and school phones

    Czech experts reject blanket social‑media bans for minors, urging platform accountability and digital education, while the government pushes a 2027 school‑phone prohibition; a three‑week phone‑free study shows

19. about 1 month ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources

    US and Global Efforts Target Online Child Exploitation and Digital Harms

    Teen screen time and mental‑health risks are rising worldwide; US law‑enforcement raids expose large‑scale online child exploitation, prompting calls for stricter tech regulation and parental safeguards.

20. about 1 month ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources

    Quang Ninh police warn of rising online child manipulation tactics during summer break

    Quang Ninh police warn that online scammers are targeting children more during summer, using fake identities on social platforms to obtain personal data and fraud, and advise parents to monitor and educate kids

21. about 1 month ago

    [CULTURE] 2 sources

    Italy's Calabria study finds 72% of hate speech occurs online

    EU‑funded research presented at the University of Calabria finds 71.6% of hate speech in Italy occurs online; UNAR recorded 17,640 reports in 2024, 93.7% from web monitoring, highlighting under‑reported hate in

22. about 1 month ago

    [CULTURE] 2 sources

    Southeast Europe faces rising hate speech and digital polarization

    Serbian and Slovenian experts say hate speech and anonymous online hostility are normalising, threatening democracy and social trust across Southeast Europe.

23. about 2 months ago

    [HEALTH] 2 sources

    Lithuanian Parents Urged to Strengthen Child Safety at Home and Online

    Lithuanian experts urge parents to build trust for online safety and recognize emergency health symptoms, advising regular dialogue, critical media literacy, and proper medical care.

24. about 2 months ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    China police dismantle massive student data leak affecting 790,000 records

    China police break a student data‑selling network that leaked over 790,000 school records, sourced from insiders and sold to enrollment brokers.

25. about 2 months ago

    [CRIME] 4 sources

    Vietnam and China student data scams exploit university admissions season

    Police in Vietnam and China exposed fraud schemes that sold or promised to manipulate student data and exam results during university admissions, affecting hundreds of thousands of families.

26. about 2 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources

    Ho Chi Minh City launches comprehensive plan to safeguard children online

    Ho Chi Minh City’s new 2026‑2030 programme mandates cyber safeguards in schools, ISP content blocks, victim support, AI assistance and a citywide enforcement network to protect children online.

27. about 2 months ago

    [HEALTH] 2 sources

    Lithuanian child advocates warn of rising online sexual abuse risks

    Lithuanian child advocates warn that online sexual abuse is rising, urging trust‑based adult relationships and vigilant monitoring to protect children.

28. about 2 months ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    Vietnam police warn of World Cup 2026 model recruitment scams

    Vietnam police warn that scammers are using fake World Cup 2026 model recruitment ads to trick students into paying fees and handing over personal data.

29. about 2 months ago

    [HEALTH] 5 sources

    Vietnam’s Summer Focus: Youth Safety, Digital Risks and Childcare Options

    Vietnamese families face TikTok 18+ content, rising child screen time, and costly summer childcare, while resorts promote safe family activities.

30. about 2 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 4 sources

    Children's Shift to Online Spaces Raises Safety Concerns

    Children worldwide increasingly use digital spaces for freedom, sparking concerns over cyber‑bullying, crime recruitment, and calls for safety measures and parental digital‑literacy programs.

31. about 2 months ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    Vietnam police caution parents and youth on online scams involving school awards and ticket sales

    Vietnam police warned that sharing school awards online and buying tickets via Facebook scams can expose personal data and lead to fraud, urging privacy safeguards and immediate reporting.

32. about 2 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources

    Vietnam warns of child data leaks and online harms from social media sharing

    Vietnam alerts that sharing children's school achievements online can leak personal data, enabling scams, while broader internet threats—cyber‑bullying, sexual abuse, fraud, harmful content, and addiction—pose

33. about 2 months ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    Sharp rise in sexual exploitation of minors reported in Peru and Trinidad &Tobago

    In 2025 Trinidad &Tobago recorded 1,074 sexual crime cases against children with 487 convictions, while Peru saw a 45% rise in online grooming investigations, affecting over 1.7 million minors despite declines

34. 2 months ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources

    European children face legal discrimination and online health risks

    Italian court orders compensation for a disabled child after service cuts, while UNICEF reports high social‑media use and mental‑health risks among Spanish primary students.

35. 2 months ago

    [POLITICS] 9 sources

    UN demands urgent measures to protect children online

    UN High Commissioner Volker Turk calls for urgent, design‑by‑default safeguards for children online, criticizing age‑only bans and urging global governments and tech firms to adopt comprehensive safety measures

36. 2 months ago

    [CRIME] 6 sources

    Vietnam's Vice Premier Pham Thi Thanh Tra launches 2026‑2030 child online safety program

    Vietnam's Vice Premier launched a 2026‑2030 online child‑protection programme, emphasizing family roles and policy reforms, amid rising family‑based child‑abuse cases and a surge in hotline reports.

37. 2 months ago

    [CULTURE] 4 sources

    Czech experts urge open sexual education and debate bans on social media for minors

    Czech experts discuss protecting children, urging open sexual education and considering bans on minors' social‑media use.

38. 2 months ago

    [POLITICS] 7 sources

    Vietnam Launches 2026‑2030 Online Child‑Safety Programme

    Vietnam’s government launched a 2026‑2030 programme to proactively protect children online, targeting full school adoption of security tools, ISP content blocking, and digital‑skill education, with support from

39. 2 months ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources

    European Commission warns of alarming rise in youth hate speech across Europe

    ECRI’s 2025 report flags a sharp rise in hate speech affecting European youth, urging better school training; Portuguese officials confirm growing exposure and call for programmes like Safe School.

40. 2 months ago

    [CULTURE] 3 sources

    UK children charity Barnardo's report finds one in ten girls threatened with nude photos

    Barnardo's UK survey finds one in ten girls threatened with nude photos, widespread online misogyny, and calls for stronger Ofcom guidance and age‑limit rules.

41. 2 months ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources

    EU and Vietnam advance child online safety measures

    German family groups push the EU’s Child Sexual Abuse Regulation while Vietnam kicks off Children’s Action Month 2026 to boost digital safety for kids, emphasizing education, privacy balance, and coordinated‐c‑

42. 2 months ago

    [HEALTH] 5 sources

    Online child sexual exploitation threatens millions, study shows global crisis and Malaysia crackdown

    Global study flags 27% of children groomed online; Malaysia crackdown seized 205,000 abuse files and arrested 117 predators.

43. 3 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources

    Parents warn of rising online scams and social‑media risks for children

    Parents in Hungary and Slovakia urge stronger safeguards as online scams and social‑media use rise among children.

44. 3 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources

    Parents urged to tighten Facebook privacy settings for kids as slang quiz underscores generational language gap

    Experts advise parents to secure children’s Facebook accounts while a slang quiz highlights the widening language gap between generations.

45. 3 months ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    UK children see surge in violent porn and sexualised AI deepfake abuse online

    UK children face rising exposure to violent porn and AI deep‑fake sexual abuse, prompting safety warnings.

46. 3 months ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources

    Hungary Internet Hotline sees sharp rise in online child sexual abuse

    Hungary’s Internet Hotline reports a 450% jump in illegal child sexual abuse URLs in 2025, with most victims aged 3‑13 and content chiefly on Dutch servers.

47. 3 months ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources

    UK police adopt digital tool to boost sex‑trafficking investigations

    UK adopts a digital tool to spot online sex‑trafficking, as a GRETA report flags legal‑aid gaps and a surge in exploitation.

48. 3 months ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources

    Portugal's parliament debates new digital safety rules for minors and identity‑theft crime

    Portugal's parliament hears proposals for digital literacy, parental guidance and a new identity‑theft crime to safeguard minors online.

49. 3 months ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources

    European child online safety faces surge in grooming, cyberbullying; age‑verification and parental action urged

    Europe warns of rising online sexual abuse and cyberbullying of children, urging age‑verification tools and parental vigilance.

50. 3 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 15 sources

    UK children bypass online age checks with fake mustaches

    UK kids easily bypass age‑verification tools, often using fake mustaches, prompting calls for stricter enforcement of the Online Safety Act.

51. 3 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources

    Mobile spyware blocked by regular shutdowns; EU age-verification app exposed for security flaws

    A journalist promotes device shutdowns to block spyware, while an EU age-verification app shows critical security flaws.

52. 3 months ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 6 sources

    EU age-verification app updated after hack reports; code released on GitHub

    EU updates age-verification app after hack concerns; code released on GitHub; not yet available to citizens.