Gone are the days when every cartoon program or animation was fit for children. The world has changed, thanks to technology and programs are pushing different agendas which if left unchecked, corrupts the minds of the young ones.
It is like program developers are using what we call the Magic Bullet Theory in imposing their agendas on people, especially children. Currently, most animations carry gay and same-gender sext content, vulgar and violent content, pornography, among others.
At some point, there is a television from the Mount Kenya region that ran a whole hour of an animation program that sex scenes all over it. The program ran during the day when kids were at home for the holidays. They were punished by the Communications Authority.
Our children are no longer safe in the current world. They face threats from the media, both online and offline and it is the duty of parents and guardians to rise up to the occasion and protect the kids. Online child protection should now be a priority.
Protecting children online is a global problem that requires concerted efforts of parents, guardians, government, organizations that are children centric among others.
Children are a vulnerable group and there have been many cases of children unknowingly getting into dangerous situations that sometimes have detrimental effects on them.
In Kenya, the Communications Authority as the ICT Regulator is mandated to protect consumers of ICT services and this includes children.
To that end, the Authority has developed this Child Online Protection Guide to create awareness on how we can all ensure children are safe online.
The truth is parents and guardians are responsible for protecting their children against sexual exploitation. The Children’s Act No. 8 of 2001 part II Article 15 states that: “A child shall be protected from sexual exploitation and use in prostitution, inducement or coercion to engage in any sexual activity and exposure to pornographic materials. Anyone found engaging in activities contrary to this shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding 12 months.
