During 2020 In the 1st quarter, the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) received 383 reports on the Internet hotline ,,Švarus internetas” (Clean Internet) about illegal or harmful content on the Internet. Internet users have sent reports about information found on the Internet related to racism and xenophobia, pornography, child sexual abuse material, violence or cyberbullying, and unauthorized disclosure of personal information. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2019 (246 reports received), the number of reports increased by 56%. The actionable reports was followed by further actions in 124 cases:
- 61 reports about child sexual abuse images were forwarded to hotlines in other countries, members of the International association of internet hotlines INHOPE.
- 36 reports were sent to Internet service providers, website owners, social network operators in various countries with a Notice and Take Down (NTD) flag about illegal Internet content on their websites or networks for removal as soon as possible.
- 17 reports were forwarded to the Office of the Inspector of Journalistic Ethics for further investigation. Suspected information of having a negative effect on minors.
- 10 reports were forwarded to the Police Department for further investigation. Suspected illegal content on official Lithuanian servers.
No further action was taken on other reports, as the content reported was not harmful or illegal under Lithuanian law or was posted on servers in foreign countries where such content is not considered illegal, or was unavailable (e.g. password protected, published in private closed groups, etc.) or not found (content removed or link no longer active).
RRT specialists also provided 146 consultations to social network users on the removal of illegally published personal or harmful information, recovery of hacket accounts, setting appropriate security and privacy options on social networks. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2019 (100 consultations were provided), the number of consultations increased by 46%.
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. In the 1st quarter of 2020 RRT received 48 reports of bullying in cyberspace. In 19 cases, the information was confirmed and appropriate action was taken. In addition, all Internet users are encouraged to report illegal (prohibited to publish) or harmful (having negative effect on minors) content on the website https://svarusinternetas.lt/. Report can also be made anonymously. How to report detected illegal or harmful content on the Internet and how the investigation of received messages will be proceeded is shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXRBMU4sfOk.
RRT has also prepared Recommendations for teachers, parents and guardians on the safety of children on the Internet during distance learning. Recommendations can be found at https://www.rrt.lt/karantinas/covid-19/.
More information on safe and responsible online behaviour can be found on the websites www.draugiskasinternetas.lt and www.esaugumas.lt.
About the Internet hotline ,,Švarus internetas” (“Clean Internet“)
RRT Internet hotline has been operating in Lithuania since 2007 under the Safer Internet project funded by the European Commission. The consortium partners of the project “Safer Internet” are the National Education Agency, RRT, the association “Langas į ateitį” and NGO “Vaikų linija”. The consortium, together with public and private sector partners, implements various initiatives to encourage the public to act responsibly on the Internet and to prevent illegal and harmful content in cyberspace. There are currently 47 Internet hotlines in 43 countries around the world, united by the international INHOPE association. RRT Internet hotline has been a member of INHOPE since 2008.
Updated on 2020-04-16