Online grooming of minors

9.9.2015

Question for written answer E-012663-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Aldo Patriciello (PPE)

Almost all children have easy access to electronic technology and hence to the Internet and social networks and although in many countries users seeking to sign up for a social network account must be at least 13 years of age, it is very easy for them to give a false date of birth, since no documentary proof is required for registration purposes.

In the light of Parliament’s resolution of 11 March 2015 and the 2014 EU Kids Online report, and given that social networks, forums, blogs and chat rooms are used by unscrupulous individuals to groom unsuspecting young people (in Italy the proportion of children affected by online grooming tripled over two years from 4.4% in 2012 to 14.2% in 2014), does the Commission plan to propose a study into the scope for raising the minimum age for access to sites that are potentially dangerous for children and call on web operators to take effective measures to verify users’ credentials?