PANAJI
Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) has urged the State government to introduce exclusive policies to regulate online games instead of resorting the blanket ban.
GSCPCR chairperson Peter Borges said that a complete ban on online gaming is not the solution to prevent the users from getting addicted to these games and losing money.
He was speaking during a one-day workshop focused on child rights and online gaming organized by GSCPCR in collaboration with CyberPeace, a leading organization dedicated to promoting online safety and security.
“Time is now. We need to take a deep dive in controlling the ill effects of online gaming among our children. The approach should be regulatory instead of banning and should contain efforts of the government, society, and family,” he said.
Borges further laid emphasis that parents’ role is of immense importance, that is to keep a watch and check over the games children are playing, money being spent by children online and prevent them from having unlimited access to parents’ bank apps and cards.
“There is a need to regulate screen time and promotion of off-screen activities like outdoor sports and outings in the family,” he said, adding that steps need to be taken to report the cyber spaces issues to relevant authorities in time bound manner.
The primary objective of the workshop was to facilitate a comprehensive dialogue among experts, industry professionals, policymakers, educators, and parents on the issues surrounding child rights and online gaming leading to help stakeholders to identify best practices, legal frameworks, and ethical guidelines that can ensure the protection and well-being of children in the online gaming space.
Themes covered during the workshop included understanding online gaming trends, legal and ethical aspects of child safety, interactive workshops and best practices with group discussion and call to action.
