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NATIONAL CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION FRAMEWORK LAUNCHED

The Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Samira Bawumia on Friday, October 18, 2024, launched the National Child Online Protection (COP) Framework aimed at augmenting national efforts to safeguard children online.

Mrs. Bawumia noted that the online protection framework was important in fighting the increasing cybersecurity threats that children in Ghana face online including cyberbullying, harassment and child sexual exploitation.

The framework developed in alignment with the initiatives of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNICEF has been designed to provide a safe and empowering online experience for children across the nation.

Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Hon. Charles Acheampong intimated that the policy is an integral part of the broader Safer Digital Ghana campaign that will expand its impact.

“Since its inception in 2018, the Safer Digital Ghana campaign has educated over 160,000 students on how to stay safe online. With the launch of the Child Online Protection Framework, we aim to cover even more young people across the country, ensuring that they have the tools and knowledge needed to navigate the digital landscape safely”, he stated.

The Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority, Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako whose outfit spearheaded the development of the COP framework noted that it would further strengthen and guide the Authority’s measures to safeguard the digital life of every Ghanaian child through multistakeholder collaboration.

He added that the adoption of the regulations on child online protection will also be completed by the end of the year to support the Authority with its mandate to implement Sections 62-66 and other relevant sections of the Cybersecurity Act 2020.

The framework was outdoored at the grand finale of the 2024 National Cybersecurity Challenge at the University of Professional Studies in Accra under the theme, “Empowering Young Minds: Creating Opportunities, Promoting a Safer Digital Ghana.”