The State Comptroller, Matanyahu Engelman, began his critique of the protection of minors in the online space.
The Comptroller's Office explains this as part of its concept for conducting social reviews, and for expanding aspects that examine risks in the online space.
This is an examination of national protection in all the risks inherent in children and adolescents in the online world, including - bullying, shame, boycott, invasion of privacy, exposure to abusive content, distribution of images of a sexual nature and sexual abuse, while examining the activities of various bodies in Israel. And enforcement.
The audit is conducted mainly at the National Network for the Protection of Children on the Net - 105, the Israel Police and various government ministries.
Special emphasis is placed on the actions of the Ministry of Education for the optimal conduct of students online and for the prevention of online vulnerabilities.
According to data from Hotline 105, based on the months January-June 2021, it emerged that the most victims in the network were 13-year-old boys and girls, and that during the period in question, more than 6,000 incidents of harm to minors were dealt with.
34% of the incidents were reported to the hotline by the parents;
22% of the incidents were about sexual offenses and the distribution of sexual images and videos;
And 16% of the incidents are of distributing embarrassing photos and videos, scheming and bullying.
The data also show that 23% of the events took place on WhatsApp and 19% of the events took place on Instagram.
As part of the audit, the audit team met with the National Student Council to learn directly about the situation on the ground.
In a meeting of the State Comptroller's Office staff with representatives of the National Student and Youth Council, in early August 2021, the students noted a range of online types of vulnerabilities that teens are exposed to.
First of all, sexual harassment, which takes many abusive forms in the online space.
"There is no one who has not been sexually assaulted in cyberspace, and many times there is no knowledge of how to deal with it," the students said at the meeting.
Other common online vulnerabilities are boycotts and exposure to shocking videos.
Recently, teens have also been exposed to online gambling to the point of addictions, as well as sites that allow easy access to alcohol and drugs.
The students emphasized that the root of the problem is the very presence of teenagers and children online for a long time.
This is a trap that exposes them, unknowingly, to online vulnerabilities.
On the other hand, the answer given to this is extremely limited, the students said.