Enhancing child protection in cyberspace.

Summer is a time when children have more time to access the internet and social media for entertainment and connecting with friends. However, along with the conveniences of the digital environment, the risks of online insecurity also increase, highlighting the need for enhanced protection and equipping children with safe digital skills from families, schools, and society.

Families need to support children in their use of social media (illustrative image).

The internet and social media are opening up many opportunities for children to learn, access knowledge, develop skills, and broaden their understanding. However, the digital environment also harbors many risks if children lack the guidance, supervision, and support of adults.

This summer, the family of Ms. Nguyen Thanh Thuy, residing in Gia Bay residential area, Linh Son ward, proactively established rules for their children's use of electronic devices and social media to limit the risk of accessing inappropriate content.

Ms. Thuy said: "Our family sets limits on the time children can use electronic devices after they have finished their studies or personal activities; we also regularly monitor the content they access. For websites with potential harmful content, we install monitoring software to restrict children's access to age-inappropriate content."

However, not every family has the knowledge and skills to guide their children in the digital environment like Ms. Thuy's family. According to experts, if social media use is not controlled, children can be affected by violent and offensive content.

More worryingly, malicious individuals can exploit children's curiosity and lack of vigilance to lure, manipulate, and deceive them into giving up their belongings and collecting personal information.

In Thai Nguyen province, there are currently 408,232 children, accounting for 22.6% of the population. The rate of children, students, and young people accessing the internet and using social media is increasing, leading to many risks of insecurity in the digital environment.

In response to these risks, the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Provincial Police) has launched the "Not Alone - Staying Safe Online Together" campaign at many schools throughout the province.

Through these awareness campaigns, thousands of students were exposed to various real-life situations and learned about new tactics used by high-tech criminals, such as account impersonation, online fraud, malware distribution, and "online kidnapping."

Lieutenant Tac Thanh Nhat Duy, an officer from the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Provincial Police), said: The unit has coordinated with commune-level police and educational institutions to implement awareness campaigns tailored to different groups of students, focusing on warning them about new cybercrime tactics. Students are also equipped with skills to protect their personal data, recognize risks, and behave responsibly in the digital environment.

A session on risk awareness and responsible behavior in the digital environment was held at Thai Nguyen No. 2 Ethnic Boarding High School.

In order to enhance the protection of children in cyberspace, the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province issued Plan No. 201/KH-UBND dated May 12, 2026, implementing the Program for protecting and supporting children's healthy and creative interaction in the online environment for the period 2026-2030.

The program aims to strengthen solutions for protecting children's safe and healthy development in the digital environment; shifting strongly from a supportive and reactive mindset to a proactive approach of prevention, early detection, and stopping the risk of child abuse in cyberspace.

Accordingly, the province strives for 100% of general education institutions to implement solutions to protect children in the online environment; and 100% of telecommunications businesses in the area to integrate solutions to block harmful information on the internet.

Simultaneously, the province is developing and implementing technological solutions to support digital skills education, counseling, and assistance for children participating in the online environment. In addition, the province aims to ensure that 100% of children who are abused online receive timely support and intervention when needed, contributing to the protection of children's legal rights and interests.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202605/tang-cuong-bao-ve-tre-em-tren-khong-gian-mang-e143922/