Article – Safety first: protecting children from watching harmful videos online

Children are at risk of coming across videos containing violence or hate speech when online. The culture committee proposed several measures to better protect them when it adopted its position on a proposed update of the audiovisual media services directives on 25 April. But do you know how much time children spend online or the best way to protect them from harmful content? Watch our video to find out.

The measures proposed by the culture committee include video-sharing platforms having to create mechanisms for reporting harmful content, which they then have an obligation to remove. In addition advertising and product placement of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and alcohol should be banned in children’s TV programmes and video-sharing platforms.

The directive also deals with other issues, such as a proposed quota for European works in on-demand video platform catalogues. The European Commission is proposing a quota of 20%, but the culture committee is calling for a quota of 30%.

All MEPs will vote on the proposals during May’s plenary session in Strasbourg. The two MEPs responsible for steering the plans through Parliament are German S&D member Petra Kammerevert  and German EPP member Sabine Verheyen.

Find out more in the press release.