ICT Minister backs private sector's role in content production

He made the remarks at the meeting of the National Information Network Steering Council on Sunday discussing the agenda of content production including child-content policymaking.

Referring to the need to draw on the experience of child-content producers in cyberspace for more precise policymaking, Hashemi noted the obligations assigned to various government bodies under the National Information Network document in the area of content production.

The ICT Minister reiterated the need to assess the measures adopted and to evaluate the performance of the bodies responsible in this field, and pointed to the measures taken by the ICT Ministry in content production over the past decade.

“The ICT Ministry strategically supports private-sector activities in this area and believes that the capacities of the private sector should be taken into account in policymaking and decision-making.”

Referring to the activities of various platforms involved in producing children's content in recent years, Hashemi said, “More accurate decision-making in this area requires drawing on the experience of operators and platforms that have faced the practical issues and challenges of producing children's content.”

“Their views should be taken into consideration in the policymaking process,” he added.

Hashemi continued citing the experience of a European country in dealing with children in cyberspace, adding that even the most successful platforms operating in this field face limitations and challenges, and that their success cannot be 100 percent.

He also identified the gap in digital knowledge between children and parents as one of the major complexities, stressing that this issue should be taken into account in policymaking concerning children's presence in cyberspace.

Hashemi called for revising the National Information Network document in line with the Seventh Development Plan and current requirements in the ICT sector.

“This is one of the responsibilities of the National Cyberspace Centre. The ICT Ministry has expressed readiness to cooperate in this regard and is pursuing its revision as soon as possible because a considerable part of the content and issues addressed in the document needs to be updated.”

The Minister expressed his agreement with a proposal to use the capacity of the Innovation Fund to provide financial support to operators active in producing children's content in cyberspace.

At the beginning of the meeting, the head of the National Information Network Content Committee presented a report on the committee's activities over the past year, within the framework of the operational objectives and measures set out in the National Information Network's comprehensive plan.

The report consisted of two chapters: Content Production on the National Information Network and the Document on Protecting Children in Cyberspace.