Basic Information

The Cyprus Safer Internet Hotline is a service provided by the Cyprus Safer Internet Center project, coordinated by the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute (CNTI). The Hotline promotes the safe use of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It serves the needs of all people that live on the island but also abroad and addresses issues of

child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...

child erotica Child erotica is non-pornographic material relating to children that is used by any individuals for sexual purposes. It is a broader term than child pornography, incorporating material that may cause sexual arousal such as nonsexual images, books ...

, child nudity,

child grooming Sexual grooming is the action or behavior used to establish an emotional connection with a vulnerable person – generally a minor under the age of consent – and sometimes the victim's family, to lower their inhibitions with the objective of se ...

activities,

child trafficking Trafficking of children, also known as child trafficking, is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of a child" for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and ...

child sex tourism Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of ''child'' in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "eve ...

, but also

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

(currently on the rise in Cyprus),

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is in ...

and inappropriate use of peoples’ images. The Hotline provides assistance to the

Cyber Crime Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cybercriminals may explo ...

unit of the

Cyprus Police The Cyprus Police (, ''i''), is the national police service of the Republic of Cyprus, falling under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993. The duties and responsibilities of the Cyprus police are set out in the amended Police La ...

by filtering reports to determine which reports concern content that is probably illegal and is also located in

or has a Cypriot dimension. This assists the Police to dedicate their specialist resources to pursuing investigations within their jurisdiction by not having to deal with the majority of reports that do not contain illegal content or relate to material held in other jurisdictions. The Hotline is a member of the INHOPE International Association of Internet Hotlines, founded in 1999 under the EC Safer Internet Action Plan. INHOPE facilitates and co-ordinates the work of hotlines internationally in responding to illegal use and content on the Internet. It facilitates good working relationships between hotlines and the exchange of reports by ensuring trust built on a rigorous hotline approval process. When illegal content which is not hosted in

is reported to SafenetCY the report is forwarded via INHOPE to the hotline that operates in the hosting country. If there is no INHOPE hotline in operation in the hosting country, the report is forwarded to the Cyprus Police which can decide based on the nature of the content to pursue an investigation in liaison with

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

History

The service was first established in 2005 as Safeweb in a partnership between the

University of Cyprus The University of Cyprus (Greek language, Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου, Turkish language, Turkish: Kıbrıs Üniversitesi) is a public university, public research institute, research university established in Cyprus in 1989. It ...

and the FORTH Institute in Greece. It was re-launched as SafenetCY in March 2007 (Grant Number SIP-2005-AN-038265), when the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute secured an EU grant together with CYTA with the initiatives of Elia Petridou and Yiannis Laouris. In 2008 it was integrated with the CyberEthics Safer Internet Awareness Center also co-funded by the Safer Internet Plus Program of the European Commission, under Grant Number SIP-2008-CNH-143-802. The Safer Internet Program of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

(EC) has been instrumental in developing the Hotline network in Europe.

Visibility

SafenetCY has run visibility events to promote Internet safety issues and the importance of making reports to combat the prevalence of illegal content on the Internet. The Hotline has participated and contributed to various forums with the view to developing safer internet initiatives. It has also provided support and speakers for events run by educational organisations, industry associations and child welfare organisations. Interviews regarding the working of the Hotline are regularly given on TV, radio and the written press. It is vital that all relevant agencies work together to promote Internet safety and provide a safer Internet environment for all. SafenetCY is also an active participant in the organisation of various events and activities to raise awareness in the context of the annual celebration of the International Safer Internet Day.

Related Projects

In addition to the Hotline, the Cyprus Safer Internet Center also operates the Cyprus Safer Internet Helpline.

Sources

EC reference to hotlinesEC reference to the Cyprus Internet HotlineOperational Procedures taken by the Cyprus Internet Hotline (PDF

Citations

External links

SafenetCY, Cyprus Internet Hotline

inhope.org

Cyprus Police

Internet in Cyprus Science and technology in Cyprus Ethics of science and technology Computer_law {{cyprus-media-stub