Internet Hotline

Special attention should be given to the behaviour of children in electronic space. Children are the most sensitive chain of Internet community, therefore the monitored prohibited, illegal activities can endanger the psychological or physical state of a child.

Child sexual abuse on Internet pornographic content, cyberbullying – it is very important to recognize these threats and report them to the Internet Hotline when encountered.

You can report illegal or harmful content by filling the anonymous reporting form. If you want to be contacted by the specialists of the Internet Hotline, please leave your contacts in the reporting form.

IMPORTANT: Amendments of the Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania have entered into force from September 1, 2017, which regulate the procedure of submission and review of reports on cyberbullying in electronic space and other prohibited or restricted distribution of public information, and removal of such information. The Law provides that parents (foster-parents) both of abusing and abused minor, who have learned about the case of public humiliation in electronic space using visul information are obliged, and other persons are entitled, to report such case to RRT by submitting the report to the Internet Hotline.

We often discuss on providing information to the society, i.e. certain activity by which the society is provided with the public information. Internet is one of the ways to spread the public information, which is, actually, substantially more advanced and simpler. Information published by this way also becomes public. Unfortunately, Internet often provides also information, public publication of which is restricted or prohibited by the laws. Thus, such information can be distinguished between restricted and prohibited.

The prohibited information is the information, whose publication and/or distribution is prohibited according to the applicable laws:

• information, related to pornographic content (including information, where sexual exploitation of children is displayed (paedophilia));
• information, which is abusing, despising, inciting hate or inciting discrimination of certain group of people or a person belonging to it due to gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, belief, gospel or creed;
• other information prohibited by laws.

The restricted information is regulated in order to protect minors. This is the information, which adversely affects their physical, mental and moral development:

• information, related to displaying the physical or psychical abuse, modelling of criminal activity;
• information of erotic nature;
• information, where body of dead or severely injured person is displayed (excluding cases, when it is necessary to identify an identity);
• information, causing fear or horror, inciting self-harming or suicide;
• other information restricted by laws.

RRT Internet Hotline activity is carried out from 2007 according to the “Safer Internet” project funded by European Commission. The aim of the project is to draw society`s attention to the illegal and harmful information on Internet, encourage safer usage of Internet and its new technologies, especially for children, familiarise with the possible ways of protection against such information. The project in Lithuania is carried out based on the multiple-year EU program “Safer Internet“.

In 2016, the European Commission has approved continuation of the “Safer Internet” project, therefore the partners of the Consortium of the project “Safer Internet” – the Centre of Information Technologies in Education of the Ministry of Education and Science (ITC), RRT, association “Langas į ateitį“ (“Window to the Future”) and NGO “Vaikų linija“ are implementing the project phase, which will be completed till the end of 2018. The Consortium, together with partners of public and private sector is planning to implement different initiatives for society encouragement to behave responsibly on Internet, and carry out prevention of illegal and harmful content in electronic space.

The official website of “Safer Internet” project is www.draugiskasinternetas.lt/en

RRT is the member of International Association of Internet Hotlines INHOPE. Today, 45 Internet Hotlines are operating in 40 countries, which are united by INHOPE Association. RRT was affiliated by INHOPE in 2008.

INHOPE membership is very important in investigation of reports on harmful or illegal content, which is placed in servers of other countries. In case the illegal information is detected in servers of other countries, the details on that are handed over to the hotlines of other countries, which take certain actions in cooperation with other home authorities, in order illegal content would be removed as soon as possible. INHOPE is especially active in cooperation with EUROPOL and INTERPOL, in fighting against visual content of child sexual abuse.