By Lydia Gichuki
In a bid to keep children safe online, Communication Authority of Kenya in collaboration with Usiku Games on February launched an online game dubbed Cyber Soljas.
Cyber Soljas is, an immersive mobile and tablet friendly game that allows children to learn more about the vulnerabilities and threats they face every day online. This interactive game targets children between the ages of 4 to 14 years.
The game gives children skills to stay safe on the internet and teaches five topics which include cybercrime, identity theft, fake news, catfishing and cyberbullying.
It teach kids and teenagers on how to recognize threats and vulnerabilities on the internet and how to deal with it.
It is aimed at guiding the children through a maze of potential dangers online and enabling them to protect their identity, personal data, and recognize sites containing harmful content.
Further, the game also seeks to enable children develop a critical approach towards information found on the internet.
The game was designed and built by Kenyans in partnership with educators to ensure the content was educational and age-appropriate.Advertisementsabout:blankREPORT THIS AD
Report published in October 2021 by Disrupting Harm in Kenya showed that children spent about 10 hours online per day after the Covid-19 outbreak compared to about 20 minutes per day before the outbreak.
In addition, data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), show that 20.6 million Kenyans aged three and above own a mobile phone with 44,777 devices are in the hands of children aged three to four.
Another measure put in place by CA to keep children safe online is introduction of a Sh300, 000 fine or a jail term of six months or both under proposed Internet safety guidelines for parents and telecommunication companies for child sim card listing.
Additionally, in 2015 the Authority launched Child Online Protection (COP) guideline policy aimed at awareness creation on the safety of children online.
Photo Credit; CA