Guard kids from cyber crimes, says panel

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has stressed the need to guard children from cyber bullying, cyber stalking, pornography, paedophilia and other forms of cyber crimes.

NCPCR chairperson Stuti Kacker expressed concern over the increasing incidents of cyber crimes against children, noting that such crimes have become a grave threat for children’s wellbeing and holistic development.

“In India, about 134 million children have access to mobile phones and the number is growing very fast,” Kacker told an event organised by UNICEF for securing safe digital spaces for children in India at New Delhi. 

“Most of these phones are estimated to be smart phones. With mobile data and broadband expansion, children have faster access to internet. While this provides opportunities for accessing useful material for learning purposes, lack of digital literacy and online safety measures exposes children to hazards of cyber crime,” she said, adding more than a third of the country’s population is below 18 years which needs protection.

NCPCR has recently launched an online user-friendly complaint management system called POCSO e-box for children to directly report sexual abuse, Kakkar said. The e-box is available on the Commission’s webpage, www.ncpcr.gov.in. The technical session was organised as part of the release of UNICEF’s publication ‘Child Online Protection in India’.