Laws to secure cyberspace critical

The Ghana Internet Safety Foundation (GISF), an NGO dedicated to the promotion of internet safety and fighting cybercrime in Ghana, has called for the enactment of laws and policies that will enforce and ensure a secure cyberspace for the digital citizens of Ghana.

It has also called on all stakeholders including the government, telecommunication organizations, civil society groups, religious organizations and other well-meaning Ghanaians to give immediate attention to issues that seek to create a safer internet for Ghanaian digital citizenry.

These were contained in a statement signed by Mr Emmanuel Adinkrah, Co-Founder of GISF and issued in Kumasi to mark this year’s World Safer Internet Day celebrations.

February 10, every year, has been set aside by the European Commission’s Safer Internet Programme as an internet safer day to create opportunity for all people around the world to engage in making the internet a safer and better place for all users, especially, children and young people.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is “Let’s create a better internet together”.

The statement said even though the internet and mobile phone technology provided tremendous socio-economic opportunities for education, entertainment and socialization, its negative impacts on the lives of young and vulnerable in society needed immediate attention.

The current rate of cybercrimes such as cyber fraud, pornography, identity theft, credit/ATM card fraud, romance scams, sexual grooming, ‘sakawa’, online sexual predators cyber bulling among others should be a concern to all.

The statement said available statistics indicated that as at April 2014, Ghana had an internet and mobile phone technology penetration of about 54.09 per cent, which was poised to grow in the coming years.

It is therefore important for all parents to gain knowledge and awareness about the potential benefits as well as the risks involved in the use of these technologies so that they could adopt strategies to safeguard their children within the cyberspace.

The statement stressed the need for all stakeholders to come together to build a safer internet for the people.