Cyber safety program to target children as young as four in kindergarten
AN explosion in the use of smart phones and incidents of children as young as four producing sexually explicit material and engaging with online child sex offenders has led to a cyber safety program to be launched today for children in kindergarten.
NSW
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CHILDREN as young as four will receive Australian Federal Police-designed cybersecurity training in response to an extraordinary explosion in the use of smart phones.
Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor will today launch the cyber safety program which is being extended to children in kindergarten.
The AFP received more than 10,000 reports of child exploitation material in the last year, arresting 91 alleged offenders for 208 child sex offences.
Mr Taylor said the new training program was “a direct response to the extraordinary breadth of the risk”.
“Children as young as five are potential victims, as shocking as that may seem to parents and teachers,” he said.
“Our law enforcement agencies are seeing shocking incidents of children as young as four producing sexually explicit material, uploading it to social media, and subsequently engaging with online child sex offenders.
“As a parent these reports are deeply concerning.
“We need to closely supervise our children online, and we also need to ensure they are taught how to identify suspicious online behaviour and how to block and report offensive apps and sites.”
The training will include material from the Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Teams and from the eSafety Commissioner.
It is expected the course will include information about the dangers of self-produced child exploitation material, the grooming of children through online apps and games, and the importance of adult supervision.
The eSafety Commissioner had previously revealed cyber-bullying complaints skyrocketed 63 per cent last year — including a string of complaints about the sharing of revenge porn.
Originally published as Cyber safety program to target children as young as four in kindergarten
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