SafeSurf campaign launch

A nationwide campaign to make the internet safer for children and teenagers was launched this week by Bahrain’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

The SafeSurf media campaign is designed to educate parents and other caregivers about how they can help youngsters get the best out of the internet while reducing its potential dangers.

 “Although we don’t believe that cybercrime is a major problem in Bahrain, we recognise that there are some groups that are more at risk than others and we want to be proactive in preventing potential abuses,” said TRA chairman Dr Mohammed Al Amer, pictured above, right.

“Our campaign will use multiple mediums, including newspapers, outdoor billboards and the internet itself, to reach as wide an audience as possible. It will also be a great opportunity for the TRA to further improve its relations and interactions with the public,” he added.

Dr Al Amer was speaking at a press conference announcing the new initiative to the public. Also, present at the event were TRA general director Mohammed Hamad Bubashait and Information & Communication Technology manager, Mohammed Alnoaimi.

The campaign was created based on the results of ongoing studies on internet safety, which included among their recommendations that a national awareness campaign should be implemented. Previously TRA released a national study entitled State of the Nation Review of Internet Safety, which found that internet security awareness was generally low in the kingdom.

The survey revealed that children aged between 14 and 18 were most at risk of becoming victims of cybercrime, but that most youngsters took positive action against potential risks. Public school children, particularly girls, were found to be more at risk than their private school counterparts. The study showed that there was no precedent for prosecuting cases of sexual or physical abuse at the time of the study, which recommended that cybercrime legislation be implemented as a deterrent to potential abuse.

The campaign’s website, www.safesurf.bh, containing tips and tutorials, was also launched yesterday. The site, which is in English and Arabic, contains information on the various tools that can be used to make the Internet safer. It also includes a feature through which people can share their personal experiences with regards to this topic and interact with the TRA.

The TRA will also be utlising various other social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram.

“The question remains: who is really online? Your child could be exposed to online predators without you being aware of it. We encourage parents, teachers and other caregivers to take the online tutorial and understand how they can protect their children,” said Mr Bubshait.

“As part of the campaign we will be releasing weekly articles focusing on different aspects of online safety, such as, for example, piracy, downloading, gaming and others. We also want to inform parents of the positive aspects of using the internet as well as the cautions that need to be taken.”

For more details, visit www.safesurf.bh or email safesurf@tra.org.bh