Hanoi (VNA) –🃏 Cyberspace is essential for children's development but presents significant challenges in ensuring information security, protecting privacy, and safeguarding young users online, insiders said.

Tran Van Anh, Deputy Executive Director of the Management and Sustainable Development Research Institute (MSD), cited a survey showing that up to 83% of interviewed children use mobile phones, with 76% having smartphones. Approximately 81% of the respondents use social media platforms, 97% of them spending at least one hour per day on their phones. According to Anh, the use of smartphones and social media has become nearly unavoidable, making it difficult to regulate and control. Therefore, schools, families, and policymakers must take solutions to avert negative issues, and mitigate risks and potential dangers for children in cyberspace. Parents and families should actively monitor their social media activities, establish support groups to share experiences in addressing online risks, offer accessible resources for assistance, and equip children with skills for safe and responsible online engagement, she added. Nguyen Duc Tuan, Director of the Vietnam Cyber Emergency Response Centre under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), said children who access the online space are exposed to various risks, including harmful content, privacy breaches, addiction to social media and gaming, cyberbullying, as well as the risk of being lured to behaviours like harassment, fraud, threats, extortion, or even being coerced into illegal activities. Dinh Thi Nhu Hoa, a representative of MIC’s Vietnam Cybersecurity Emergency Response Teams/Coordination Centre (VNCERT/CC), said it is necessary to concertedly put in place solutions to protect children in online space, including building and perfecting the legal framework, raising the awareness of children and equip them with digital skills, optimising technologies, and boosting international cooperation. "Children need to know how to seek help once they become victims," she stressed. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Chairman of the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA), said his agency recently has encouraged its member organisations to invest in researching and developing products and services to protect children, towards building an ecosystem of solutions for child protection in cyberspace in Vietnam./.