In Quarter III of 2020, the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT) received 208 reports of illegal or harmful internet content via the internet hotline ”Clean Internet”. Internet users sent reports of internet information found and related to racial discord and xenophobia, pornography, sexual exploitation of children, violence or cyberbullying, as well as unauthorized disclosure of personal information. Compared to Quarter II of 2020 (284 reports received), the number of reports decreased by 27%. The investigation was followed by further actions in 76 cases:
- 23 reports about child sexual abuse images were forwarded to hotlines in other countries, members of the International Association of Internet Hotlines INHOPE.
- 24 reports were forwarded to internet service providers, website owners, social media management companies in various countries with a Notice and Take Down (NTD) flag on illegal internet content on their websites or social networks for soonest possible removal.
- 6 reports were forwarded to the Office of the Inspector of Journalistic Ethics for further investigation regarding information suspected of having negative effects on minors.
- 23 reports were forwarded to the Police Department for further investigation regarding suspected illegal content on Lithuanian servers.
Moreover, in 107 cases RRT specialists advised social network users on the removal of illegally published personal or harmful information, on the recovery of hacked accounts, and on setting appropriate security and privacy options on social networks. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2019 (76 consultations were provided), the percentage of consultations increased by 75%.
RRT hereby reminds that according to the Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania, upon learning of a case of public bullying in cyberspace, the parents (guardians, caregivers) of violent minors and minors subject to violence must report it to RRT, and other persons have the right to do it. In the 3nd quarter of 2020, RRT received 31 reports of bullying in cyberspace. In 14 cases the information was confirmed and appropriate action was taken.
All internet users are called on to report content that is illegal (posting of which is prohibited) or harmful (having negative effects on minors) using the internet hotline “Clean Internet”, at the address https://svarusinternetas.lt/. Reports may also be anonymous. Please see this video to see how to report illegal or harmful content online, and how the received reports are followed up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXRBMU4sfOk.
Currently, the Internet hotline www.švarusinternetas.lt remains the main channel for receiving notifications about prohibited internet content, but RRT hopes that new smart solutions will be used for this purpose in the near future. RRT, participating in the GovTech Lab’s challenge series for the Agency for Science Innovation and Technology (MITA), together with the experts of the GovTech team, selected the best idea for searching for prohibited content on the Internet and started working with the start-up Oxylabs team. It is planned to develop an innovative tool based on the use of artificial intelligence to identify prohibited internet content stored in the Lithuanian digital space and to automatically notify the RRT Internet hotline about it.
Updated on 2020-10-20