Children and ICT European Initiatives and Policies on Protecting Children Online

The paper concerns the opportunities of use information and communication technologies for the education purposes. It presents key assumptions of the European Union policy concerning innovative methods of training and the prospects for their further development. As nowadays one can observe increasing activity of the children and young people in the Internet space out of school as well, making them aware of the dangers on the network and ways to protect them becomes crucial. These issues are the focus of attention of the European Commission, as an executive body of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation and implementing decisions. The paper presents Member State initiatives and key assumptions of the European Union policy aimed at protecting the youth against the consequences of irresponsible use of information and communication technology. Showing the growth of risks associated with the use of the Internet by minors should be recognized as the one of the main objectives of the article. The paper provides an answer to the question whether described initiatives are effective and adequate to rapidly changing reality.