Tiraspol, 5 April. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The strengthening information security and the protection of children from the negative impact of modern information technologies were the main topics of a meeting between Supreme Council members and the executive director of the Safe Internet League, Denis Davydov.
According to Davydov, information protection is of national importance today. This has been shown by a resonant situation with the so-called «death groups» in social networks where users, most of whom are teenagers, are induced to commit suicide.
As Davydov noted, this is a very serious problem in Russia as suicidal communities give rise to a disturbance in society.
According to the Safe Internet League, only 22% of parents employ technical means to protect their children against the negative influence of the Internet. Meanwhile, 75% of Russian children use social networks today, with 57% of them registered in VK, in which «death groups» have become widely spread.
The Russian president, Davydov underscored, has instructed that a set of measures should be developed to counter negative information influences. The League is also working on draft proposals.
«Our task is to ensure the safety of our children, but without appropriate legislation we will not be capable of doing so», said Davydov, stressing that the authorities must give a clear answer to the question of how to ensure the information security of their citizens.
The parliaments of Russia and Pridnestrovie are considering today draft laws exacerbating criminal liability for inducing suicide and advocating suicide. However, according to the speaker of the Supreme Council, Alexander Scherba, Pridnestrovie cannot regulate the use of the Internet on its own. It is also unacceptable to restrict the rights of citizens to obtain information, the speaker underscored.
«Prohibitive measures are not acceptable; therefore, we are interested in the experience of the Russian Federation," said Scherba.
As the head of the parliamentary committee on information policy, Igor Buga, told journalists, the committee will organise a public hearing on relevant legislation changes based on the Russian experience.
The «death group» problem surfaced in the Russian media in the spring of 2016, with a rise in popularity of suicidal communities among teenagers in social networks. Dozens of teenage suicides have been associated with the influence of these groups throughout the ex-USSR. According to the Interior Ministry, Pridnestrovie has also seen a number of teenage suicides this year, but their connection with suicidal communities has not been established. At the same time, measures taken by authorities and volunteers' activities have prevented a number of suicides. In total, according to law enforcers, there are several dozen young Pridnestrovian among «death group» members. They were provided appropriate psychological assistance.
