GNCC to protect children from dangerous information on Internet
By Mariam Chanishvili
Tuesday, March 10
The Georgian National Communication Commission (GNCC) approved regulations in order to protect children and adolescents from online threats and set out rules for posting such information online.
According to the Commission's decision, obligations to both internet service providers and companies owning websites were set out to protect children on the Internet. The decision will come into force on June 1.
In order for parents to have an effective threat mitigation mechanism, Internet service providers are required, on the one hand, to develop mechanisms that will, at the request of a specific (subscriber) parent, restrict access to websites that are endangering children. On the other hand, the Commission obliged the website owners to give their websites the appropriate age ranking, in particular for which age category their audio-visual products are set out.
In order to protect children from harmful effects on the Internet, the GNCC provides a special rating list for child-threatening internet sites and publishes them on its own website; the list will be updated weekly by Internet service providers.
GNCC implements important projects to protect children and adolescents from harmful effects. Media literacy projects will be actively implemented in the future in order to raise awareness among the parents and children as well.
An administrative charge is imposed on the offender for violating the rules on the placement of information on child endangerment on the Internet in accordance with Article 144 11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia. The GNCC has approved regulations based on a law passed by Parliament to protect children and adolescents from online threats.
Precondition for the establishment of Georgian National Communications Commission was the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Post and Telecommunications made on the 23rd of July, 1999. Creation of Georgian National Communications Commission has set completely new organizational-legal and economic principles in the field of post and telecommunications.
