That the Parliament notes that Safer Internet Day 2025 will take place on 11 February 2025, with a focus on the theme, "Too Good to Be True? Protecting Yourself and Others from Scams Online"; recognises that Safer Internet Day is the UK’s largest celebration of online safety, engaging schools, businesses and communities to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people; acknowledges what it sees as the growing risks of online scams, including financial fraud, phishing schemes, identity theft and online financial sextortion, and the disproportionate impact it believes that these have on young people; considers that advances in generative AI and deepfake technology are making scams more sophisticated and harder to detect, increasing the urgency for greater protection and education in digital resilience; commends the Scottish Government’s commitment to improving online safety, including its Digital Strategy, which promotes digital literacy as a core skill in education; recognises what it sees as the ongoing work of Scottish schools in promoting digital wellbeing and online safety, particularly through participation in the Digital Schools Award Programme; commends the achievements of Doune and Deanston Primary Schools, which have become the first schools in the Stirling Council area to receive an award that recognises efforts to promote internet safety, in addition to revalidating their Digital Schools Awards originally earned in 2017 and 2018; welcomes the ongoing intergovernmental collaboration on online safety, including discussions between the Scottish Government and Ofcom on the implementation of the Online Safety Act; believes that further action is needed to ensure that all young people in Scotland can navigate the online world safely and with confidence, and calls on the Scottish Government to continue its work in strengthening digital literacy education in schools while also encouraging greater accountability from technology companies, ensuring a safer digital future for Scotland’s children and young people.
Supported by:
Karen Adam, Jeremy Balfour, Colin Beattie, Miles Briggs, Stephanie Callaghan, Finlay Carson, Annabelle Ewing, Kenneth Gibson, Christine Grahame, Bill Kidd, Fulton MacGregor, Ruth Maguire, John Mason, Marie McNair, Edward Mountain, Audrey Nicoll, Emma Roddick, Kevin Stewart, Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Annie Wells, Tess White, Beatrice Wishart