Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano signed a Joint Declaration in London, committing to make the Internet a safer and better place for children. Among the commitments signed, they agreed to implement joint campaigns on the occasion of an annual Safer Internet Day.

A Joint Declaration committing to make the Internet a safer and better place for children was signed by the European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in London. The declaration contains commitments such as to implement joint campaigns on the occasion of an annual Safer Internet Day. As a first step, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security intends to participate in the EU’s Safer Internet Day for young people on February 5, 2013. The EU celebrated the Safer Internet Day 2012 on the 7th of February.

The EU and the US also commit to contribute to international cooperation in fighting child sexual abuse online in the immediate future. This will build on existing work by the Virtual Global Taskforce and Interpol on law enforcement collaboration to combat child sexual abuse worldwide. Both parties highlighted that international cooperation is essential if they want to be effective in fighting child sexual abuse online. They also acknowledge that parents and guardians need to trust the content and services their children access and commit to continue working with industry and other stakeholders so that parents and children can make informed choices online.

The groundwork for this declaration was prepared by the EU-US Working Group on Cyber-security and Cyber-crime. This was established in the context of the EU-US Summit of 20 November 2010 held in Lisbon with the aim to tackle new threats to the global networks upon which the security and prosperity of our free societies increasingly depend. The declaration complements other European Commission initiatives to keep children save and confident in the digital world.