Why should you protect children from risky online Apps and software?

Children’s experiences occur in two worlds, physical and digital, but these are increasingly intertwined and sometimes used as a way to engage in physical, sexual and emotional violence.

Tabitha Suubi, a children’s rights activist at Raising Voices, says abusers can contact children anytime, anywhere, making it difficult for victims to escape abuse and exploitation.

“There are adults who target children for sexual purposes on social media, gaming and messaging platforms,” says Suubi.

”Worse still, the internet allows malicious content such as photos and videos to live indefinitely in the digital world, potentially falling into anyone’s hands and leading to blackmail and further abuse.

”If they share their private information, nude photos or videos, they become public and permanent. They will stay,” explains the child activist.

With more than five billion Internet users today, the way children experience the world of learning is no longer confined to four walls.

In August this year, the Minister of Education and Sports paved the way for the adoption of digital devices in learning. The new strategy is designed to meet the expectations of existing policy and regulatory frameworks while improving teaching and learning outcomes through digitally enhanced curricula.

Education minister Janet Museveni has suggested school principals consider reconfiguring digital devices to protect students.

At the same event, Kyambogo College School head teacher, Mr Stanley Mugume, said the devices in their possession were yet to be secured.

IT expert Mr Andrew Adroni discusses the different tools parents and teachers can use to protect children online.

“Digital security in schools is a concern these days because students are normally exposed to so much content. Therefore, there are various practices that are recommended for parents to use when it comes to keeping children safe; There are also specific apps that teachers and schools can use to protect children as they interact with these technologies. ” says Adroni.

“Therefore, I recommend parents to use these applications at home. One of them is Google Family Link. This is a free app using Google. So, most parents use Android devices and most of these devices they buy for their children are normally powered by Android. “So this tool can help them monitor their activity, block connections they don’t want them to access, and block specific apps they don’t want kids to access,” he adds.

The other application is Apple Screen Time for children using iOS devices such as iPad, iPhone, MacBook Pro. Content and other content not intended for children,” he says.

For schools, he recommended Microsoft Family Safety, an app that can be used to block student access to certain apps. Adroni says this is very useful because it integrates well with the operating systems most schools use.

“Most schools use Microsoft, and this is a Microsoft product that can easily integrate with most systems. In addition, I think schools should make more efforts to take safety measures for children. That is, by installing firewalls,” he explains.

He adds: “Most schools have networks where students connect. Therefore, they also need to be protected from intrusions and any malicious activity that may be related to these devices and the internet.”

He recommends Bark as a tool for both teachers and parents to monitor what’s going on, what students are accessing, and also to send reports to teachers and parents about what activities students normally engage in when using the internet and other resources.

Other tools are Custodian and Net Nanny, which works like Bark. Most are free and some are built into operating systems.

“For example, Apple Screen Time is already built into all Apple devices. So, it’s free for Google Family Link, and most of the apps I mentioned are free. There are a few that require payment, but as you know, we are in an era where digital transformation is growing, artificial intelligence is coming into play, and students are exposed to many resources. So some of these apps are using some of these APIs to actually protect kids. But the majority of them are free.”

On a national day of prayer against human trafficking this month, the Home Office said online child trafficking was on the rise and asked parents to protect their children at all costs.

According to the Children’s Fund Alliance, over three decades children’s internet use has become more intrusive, with many becoming the recipients of users around the world.

Every day, more than 175,000 children go online for the first time. This situation worries the Ministry of National Education. As the likelihood of participating under the guise of learning increases, so will concerns.