Cybersecurity: NCC Management, COP Ambassadors stress importance of child online safety in Africa

*The Nigerian telecoms sector regulator’s Management team, including Directors and Heads of Units, as well as the Commission’s Child Online Protection (COP) Ambassadors have stressed the significance of Child Online Safety for improved consumer experience in the country’s digital space

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

In the Commission’s continued efforts at sensitising the parents, caregivers, and telecoms consumers in general about the need to ensure safety of the young population in cyberspace, the Management of the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC) and the Commission’s Child Online Protection (COP) Ambassadors have spoken and stressed the essentials of Child Online Safety on the African continent.

ConsumerConnect reports some top officials of the NCC, including Directors, Heads of Units, in a video took turns in contributing to the ongoing public awareness and sensitisation on the protection of especially the young users of the Internet in this digital era.

Some African teenagers on mobile Internet

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The telecoms sector regulator’s Management team voiced their messages in the audiovisual material tagged, ‘NCC Child Online Protection Advice To Parents And Caregivers’, recently released via the Commission’s corporate Web site.

African children’s views of child online safety

Similarly, the Commission’s COP Ambassadors have shared their experiences in connection with what the idea of child online protection means to them.

The topic is: ‘African Children’s view matters – What is Child Online Safety to you?’

The NCC noted that in commemoration of the African Union (AU) Day of the African Child, which is celebrated June 16 yearly since 1991, the Commission in collaboration with Child Online Africa (COA), Ghana, distributed the above question to children across the continent, including Nigeria.

“This was shared to get feedback of different children from different cultures and backgrounds about their view on Child Online Safety,” said the Commission.

RELATED: Digital Technologies And Regulator’s Commitment To Child Online Safety In Nigeria

In their written responses, the children acknowledged the need for the stakeholders to encourage child online safety initiative, especially among children who have an opportunity to access modern digital technologies.

Eminence Majesty, one of the children and Senior Secondary School (SS3) student, described Child Online Safety as “simply the safety of children and even teenagers from lurking dangers online.”

A collage photo of some of the children’s written responses to NCC’s question: ‘African Children’s view matters – What is Child Online Safety to you?’  Credit: NCC/ ConsumerConnect

Some others also listed several crimes being committed on the Internet to include “Internet fraud (Yahoo-Yahoo in local parlance), hacking of private accounts, and cyberbullying” among others.

According to the telecoms regulator, the following 11 sample responses were picked from the lot received from across the West African country in order to highlight the Nigerian child’s view of online safety in the country’s digital ecosystem.

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