Protecting children and young people online - The Danish Safer Internet Centre in the spotlight

During its presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2025, Denmark has made the protection of children and young people online one of its priorities. In this context, the “Education flagship conference on well-being and digitalization”, held in Copenhagen on 23-24 September, will focus on the interrelation of digital transformation and individual well-being, and investigate how educational systems can support children and young people in developing their abilities to navigate in a digital society. 

In relation to child protection online, under the Digital Europe 2023-2024 Work Programme, €21.4 million has been allocated to co-fund Safer Internet Centres (SICs) across 25 EU countries, plus Norway, Albania and North Macedonia. The SICs play a crucial role in promoting online safety by providing educational resources, public awareness tools, and essential counselling and reporting services. Through dedicated helplines and hotlines, SICs support children, parents, educators and professionals working with young people, helping to create a safer and more informed digital environment for all. 

The Danish Safer Internet Centre (SIC Denmark) is operated by a consortium formed of an awareness centre run by Media Council for Children and Young People, a hotline run by Save the Children Denmark and a helpline managed by the Centre for Digital Youth Care. The Danish SIC was established with the aim to empower children and young people to tackle online risks and to become media literate, resilient digital citizens. 

One of the most notable recent achievements includes its contribution to the change of the Danish criminal law, extending the notice and takedown procedure to child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) not necessarily qualified as illegal at national level (child sexual abuse material, CSAM). This means in practice that more CSEM will be categorised as CSAM in the future. In addition, Save the Children Denmark has been appointed as a trusted flagger under the Digital Services Act from January 2026, thereby further strengthening the DSA enforcement framework at national level.

Since its creation in 2009, SIC Denmark has provided children, parents, teachers and other professionals with valuable educational resources, online safety information, public awareness tools, and counselling and reporting services. Most recently, it produced a campaign with four videos, surrounding the theme children’s rights, and published a study on youth behaviour and experiences using digital media platforms.

Interested in learning more about the SICs’ key activities, policy background and funding? Please check HaDEA’s recently published Safer Internet Centres factsheet.

Background information:

The Digital Europe Programme (DEP) aims to build the strategic digital capacities of the EU and to facilitate the wide deployment of digital technologies. With an overall budget of €7.5 billion, out of which €0.8 billion is managed by HaDEA, the programme will support investments in the following sectors:

• High Performance Computing
• Cloud, data and Artificial Intelligence
• Cybersecurity
• Advanced digital skills
• Accelerating best use of technologies

HaDEA manages actions under Cloud, data and Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Digital Skills and Accelerating best use of technologies.