Safer Internet Day: Yettel and UNICEF on the importance of protecting children in the online environment

Belgrade, February 10, 2026 – On the occasion of the Safer Internet Day, Companies UNICEF Serbia and Yettel remind that child protection in digital surroundings requires joint and responsible action by all of us, from institutions, the private sector, and online platforms, to parents and teachers. Digital technologies bring numerous possibilities for learning and development, but at the same time, open the space for risks from which children are not adequately protected.

Through initiatives and educational activities, including workshops, Yettel actively encourages students, parents, and teachers to be aware of potential dangers on the internet and to develop critical reasoning in digital surroundings. In that way, the Company is contributing to the strengthening of digital literacy and responsible behaviour, so that the internet would become a space that supports learning, creativity, and safe development of children.

UNICEF analysis of AI in Education in Europe and Central Asia shows that child protection mechanisms often do not follow the rate of technological changes. Practically four out of ten analysed systems do not have publicly accessible information on data protection practices, which makes it more difficult to assess ways in which data on children are gathered, used, and kept, and points to the lack of transparency and responsibility. Similar challenges are also in the broader online environment that children use.

In cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Information and Telecommunications, UNICEF Serbia, and Yettel, the publication Digital Compass for Parents was published. An educational series of three brochures is designed to help parents, guardians, and teachers to better understand the digital world and conduct open talks with children on safe and responsible use of the internet.