The EU Council of Ministers agreed on Monday to extend an action plan on promoting safer use of the internet. The plan, which ran from 1999 to 2002, has been extended for a further two years.

The Decision set out an action plan to create a safer environment for the use of the internet by tackling illegal use of the web, particularly in connection with, according to the Decision, “offences against children and trafficking in human beings or for the dissemination of racist and xenophobic ideas”.

The plan included funding for measures such as hotlines for the reporting of illegal content on the internet, tools for use in filtering or restricting children’s access to the internet and awareness measures to encourage safe use of the internet.

According to this week's formal Amendment to the Decision, “New on-line technologies, new users, and new usage patterns create new dangers and exacerbate existing dangers at the same time as opening a wealth of new opportunities.”

The scope of the plan is therefore increased, to cover the growth of new technologies including chat rooms, instant messaging and P2P systems and the ways they can affect safety.

The plan is to be brought into line with other policies concerning the security of networks and personal information, and the funding is increased – up to €38.3 million over the lifetime of the plan.

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