Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Interim evaluation of the multi-annual Union programme on protecting children using the Internet and other communication technologies

This communication concerns the interim evaluation of the Safer Internet Programme 2009-2013. The Technopolis Group was given the assignment to carry out the evaluation. The main objective of the evaluation has been to assess the programme concerning relevance, effectiveness and efficiency in addition to broader impacts and sustainability based on evidence from questionnaires, consultations with stakeholders and annual reports.

The main objectives of the programme are to:

- Increase public awareness;
- Provide the public with a network of contact points for reporting illegal and harmful content and conduct, in particular on child abuse material, grooming and cyber bullying;
- Foster self-regulatory initiatives in this field and involve children in creating a safer online environment;
- Establish a knowledge base on new trends in the use of online technologies and their consequences for children's lives.

Compared to the earlier programmes the general scope of the current programme has been extended to include emerging online technologies, the covering of harmful contact and conduct (like grooming and cyber-bullying) and it aims at establishing a knowledge base within this field.

This evaluation covers the first part of the 2009-2013 Safer Internet Programme and the main focus is therefore to evaluate how the programme is evolving, but the evaluation will also feed into recommendations for any follow-up initiative.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)033: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:033:FIN

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