Abu Dhabi: Adjustments made to Facebook’s picture-posting rules have been lauded by the Ministry of Interior’s Higher Committee for Child Protection. The new rules include banning any abusive images or offensive comments that describe provocative acts.
Major General Dr Nasser Lakhrebani Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Higher Committee, said: “These modifications are an erudite step towards morally protecting children and preserving the values and morality of society. As one of the world’s leading social networking sites, Facebook has garnered a high number of Arab users, hence such an initiative is necessary. In this regard, I do hope that the rest of the social media sites follow suit and adopt Facebook’s new policies.”
He explained that the ministry has implemented several global initiatives that contribute to making the internet a safer place. He pointed out that the Higher Committee, under the patronage of Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, had previously organised a joint training in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, to monitor child pornography on B2B networks. He said that the training focused on raising public awareness regarding the risks that modern technology pose and additionally provided support to all efforts made by the participants to protect their children.
“[The committee is keen to] follow up the initiatives and projects related to achieving the vision of Shaikh Saif in making the UAE a cultural beacon and a centre of excellence in child protection; for children are the wealth of the present and the pillars of tomorrow,” Maj Gen Al Nuaimi said.
He added that the Higher Committee renewed its full commitment, through a recently organised legislative workshop, to achieve the goals of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), to make the internet a safer place for the children who are prone to exploitation, and to bring criminals to justice. The workshop was held with the attendance of a number of specialists and strategic partners from inside and outside the UAE. The UAE will host the second edition of the Global Summit on Ending Online Child Sexual Exploitation, expected to be held by the end of this year.
Maj Gen Al Nuaimi also pointed out that the majority of smartphone users are children and teenagers. “This event will help to protect them by raising their awareness about the various illicit and harmful content and behaviour they may encounter and it also provides them with proper methods of fighting against such crimes. Most importantly, these youth will be better protected from those with a criminal agenda to lure and seduce minors into partaking in unethical activities,” he said.
Such efforts are carried out throughout the year alongside other awareness and initiatives pursued by the ministry.
