During 2021 Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) received 3558 reports on the internet hotline „Švarus internetas“ (Clean Internet) about internet content prohibited to be disseminated[1] or having detrimental effect on minors. That is a record number of reports to be received since the establishment of internet hotline. In comparison to 2020 (1373 reports received), the number of reports increased by almost 2.6 times. After the specialists of RRT investigated every report received, further actions were undertaken concerning 380 cases:
- 108 reports about child sexual abuse images were forwarded to the internet hotlines in other countries, members of international association of internet hotlines INHOPE. 1551 reports received about the actually forbidden content were repetitive, i.e., they were about the same content, which had already been reported to INHOPE or Police Department, therefore, no additional actions were undertaken regarding them.
- 161 report was forwarded to internet service providers, website owners, social network operators in various countries with a Notice and Take Down mark about illegal internet content on their websites or networks for removal as soon as possible.
- 80 reports were forwarded to Police Department for further investigation, due to suspected content forbidden to be disseminated on Lithuanian servers.
- 31 report was forwarded to the Office of the Inspector of Journalistic Ethics for further investigation, due to the suspicion of information having detrimental effect on minors.
125 out of all the reports received by RRT in 2021 were about cyberbullying. In 37 cases the information was confirmed and respectful actions were undertaken. RRT reminds that according to the Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania, parents (guardians, carers) of a minor student (both, the bully and the victim) after learning about a case of public bullying in cyberspace must and other persons have the right to report it to RRT.
RRT specialists also provided 284 consultations to social network users on illegally published personal or harmful information, recovery of hacked accounts, setting appropriate security and privacy options on social networks. In comparison to 2020 (when 600 consultations were provided), the number of consultations decreased more than twice. Internet users can find more information on how to ensure the safety on social networks, select suitable antivirus programs, use the public wireless internet or protect the privacy on the internet at the updated website www.esaugumas.lt.
RRT reminds that all internet users are encouraged to report illegal (prohibited to publish) or harmful (having detrimental effect on minors) content, found on the internet, on the website https://www.svarusinternetas.lt/. Report can also be made anonymously. How to report detected illegal or harmful content on the internet and how the investigation of reports received will be proceeded is shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXRBMU4sfOk. More information on safe and responsible online behaviour can be found on the websites www.draugiskasinternetas.lt and www.esaugumas.lt.
[1] Public information that may be attributed to the information prohibited to be disseminated under the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information, i.e. in which a child or a group of persons are ridiculed or humiliated on grounds of nationality, race, sex, origin, disability, sexual orientation, social status, language, religion, beliefs, views or on other similar grounds, or it is of pornographic nature, which promotes sexual abuse and exploitation of minors, which presents gratuitous violence and/ or which is public information prohibited by other laws (Item 1 of Paragraph 2 of Article 232 of the Law on Education).
Updated on 2022-01-27