Sponsored by the NSPCC
Knowing what your children or grandchildren are watching online, or who they are interacting with, can be hugely challenging for even the most tech-savvy of us, especially as they move into their teens and want more independence.
For most of us, online safety means not clicking on links in emails promising a tax rebate that you weren’t expecting, or steering clear of ‘investment opportunities’ promising too good to be true returns. These are scams and, for the most part, they can be relatively easy to identify.
The same cannot be said for the online world that younger people inhabit. Indeed, recent high-profile cases have illustrated both the ease with which children can access harmful content, how damaging that content can be to young minds and the lack of protection for those targeted by bullies and predators online.
How the NSPCC is helping
The NSPCC is dedicated to protecting children and keeping them safe from harm, both online and offline. Its Child Safety Online Strategy has already made a huge impact on protecting children, by lobbying to make it a crime for an adult to send a sexual message to a child.
The charity has campaigned for years for the Online Safety Bill to be passed by parliament and now achieved this aim, meaning it is now a law, helping to make the internet safer for children and young people. Websites and apps now have to be built with children’s safety in mind, and tech companies will have to legally protect them from harm. This means they must by law prevent, detect and remove illegal content, which includes content that depicts, promotes or facilitates child sexual abuse, controlling or coercive behaviour, terrorism, or suicide.
Companies must also prevent children from accessing content that could be harmful or that isn’t age-inappropriate, such as pornography, or content showing bullying or self-harm.
The NSPCC’s groundbreaking strategy also includes an Online Safety Hub aimed at providing parents, grandparents and young people with the resources and tools they need to navigate the internet.
The Hub is organised by topic, with pages dedicated to social media, online gaming, and parental controls. Here, users will find explanations of the risks associated with different online activities, as well as practical advice and tips on how to minimise these risks. For example, you can find guidance for all ages on avoiding being coerced into behaviour such as sexting, sharing nudes, live streaming and other forms of harmful content, and how to report abuse.
Additionally, the NSPCC has an Online Safety blog where they look at apps, online safety campaigns, and settings and features that parents should be aware of. Topics covered include whether you should let your child use the voice, video and text chat app Discord, and if WhatsApp is safe for your children.
Empowering young people to take control
Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation’s Report Remove tool is another innovative tool that gives young people the power to report and potentially remove harmful images or videos shared online. Using three simple steps, young people can report a potentially harmful image or video and receive updates on the status of their report. The IWF will then review the report and, if it breaks the law, work to have it removed. Young people can talk to a Childline counsellor if they want any extra support, or access support on the Childline website.
How you can support online safety
Support given through fundraising and donations, including gifts in Wills, are vital in helping the NSPCC achieve its aim of delivering change and improving the lives of vulnerable young people, and in making the online world safer for them to negotiate.
A gift to us in your Will can power this work for years to come, and help keep children safe, no matter what the future holds. It could not only help prevent abuse, neglect and exploitation, both online and offline, but it could fund Childline and our Helpline, and support education programmes that give children the power and confidence to speak out when something is wrong.
During these difficult financial times, many of us might not have spare cash available to donate, even if we’re keen to help the causes that are important to us. If you do want to show your support, but can’t give anything right now, then leaving a legacy to the NSPCC in your will might be worth considering.
Leaving a financial gift to a charity in your will not only helps them, but may also benefit you too. For example, if you’re facing a potential Inheritance Tax liability, there may be tax benefits if you leave a gift to charity in your will.
This is because any donations you make to charity are free of Inheritance Tax, and, if you leave at least 10% of your estate to a charitable cause, you can reduce the Inheritance Tax rate on the rest of your estate from 40% to 36%.
However much you can afford to leave, by donating a legacy gift in your will to the NSPCC, you’ll be giving the most powerful gift to children – a happy and safe childhood.