Parents told to monitor children's online activity

Dubai: Families have been advised to monitor their children's access to the internet to avoid them falling victim to cyber crime, abuse and harassment.

The risk of child abuse over the internet came under the spotlight at a meeting between Dubai Police, the Ministry of Interior, the Community Development Authority and other authorities held to plan a new campaign to protect children from internet risks.

Lieutenant Colonel Jasem Mirza, Director of Security Awareness at Dubai Police, highlighted the issue of internet safety for children, which is the responsibility of families. The campaign aims to spread awareness and inform families of the dangers children browsing the net can be exposed to, Lt Col Mirza said.

There are 16 main steps that help protect children from these dangers, starting with educating children by talking to them about the internet and setting rules for allowed websites and browsing times, he said.

Children should be taught not everything they see on the web is true. Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Mohammad Al Shummari, Director of the Interior Ministry's Child Protection Centre, said negligence in supervising a child's internet access can have grave consequences.