EE – the first mobile network operator to join Internet Matters
Internet Matters is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to keep children safe in the digital world. Partnered with the renowned internet industry leaders including Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and BT, EE is now their latest partner and the first mobile network operator to join. The new partnership came after EE’s research findings:
- 35% of parents are planning on giving smartphones or tablets to their children this Christmas,
- 40% do not consider online safety when making purchases,
- 25% have never used parental controls,
- A further 25% were unlikely to take the time to set up their child’s new tablet or smartphone safely during a busy Christmas day before letting them get online.
EE will be offering free wrapping paper containing online safety tips across 200 stores. The paper is designed with a festive theme and easy-to follow advice on the inside. Internet Matters and EE hope that the paper will provide overwhelmed, uninformed or ill-equipped parents the information they need to talk about online safety issues with their children. Support will also be available in-store alongside information on Internet Matter’s website. Internet Matter’s advice in an ever-growing digital world consists of the following:
How can you keep your child safe online this Christmas?
- Check the basic safety settings are set up and active e.g. location settings and the app store permissions
- Review their apps – make sure they are age appropriate and privacy settings are on
- Turn on Google ‘Safe Search’ and ‘Restricted Mode’ on YouTube to help screen out inappropriate content
- Check they’re connected safely – set parental controls on your broadband and apply a content lock on their mobile network
– All EE phones are set by default to moderate which limits access to things like pornography – but EE also offers one of the most comprehensive content locks in the UK, specifically designed for parents to activate on devices that they give to children that restricts un-moderated social media and sets Google Safe Search by default. Parents can set this by texting ‘strict’ to 879. - Stay engaged – have regular conversations with your children about what they do
Ensure your children know the rules:
- Always keep your phone safe and secured with a PIN
- Don’t answer calls from numbers you don’t recognise
- Don’t give your number to strangers
- Never share personal information online
- Never send pictures to people you don’t know