TECHDIGEST – Meta has announced the launch of the AMBER Alert Programme on Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria. Working in partnership with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), this programme is aimed at helping to find abducted children by sending AMBER Alerts to the local Facebook and Instagram community in Nigeria.

AMBER Alert is designed to increase the chances of finding missing children by putting more people on the lookout for them. When an AMBER Alert is activated by law enforcement, the alert will appear on the Facebook and Instagram Feed of users within the designated search area, enabling them to share the information instantly with friends or contact the authorities if they have leads.

AMBER Alert is designed to include important information about the missing child such as a photo description, location of the abduction, and other relevant and available information to aid in immediately identifying the missing child.

Emily Vacher, Meta’s Director of Trust and Safety, said: “Already available across 28 countries globally, we are proud to partner with NAPTIP to make AMBER Alert available in Nigeria – the second African country to join this programme. When there is a reported case of a missing child, the most valuable thing one can do is share information as quickly as possible. By working with law enforcement in helping to share the right information with the right people, we hope that missing children will be safely reunited with their families faster.”

READ ALSO: Adoption Of e-Voting Will Drastically Reduce Prospect Of Electoral Violence – DG NITDA

In emphasising the importance of this launch, Adaora Ikenze, Meta’s Head of Public Policy, Anglophone West Africa, said:“This partnership with NAPTIP is another important milestone in reinforcing our ongoing commitment to Nigeria. We know our apps can be used as a force for good, and the AMBER Alert launch across Instagram and Facebook highlights this.”

How AMBER Alert Works

The decision to declare an AMBER Alert is made by NAPTIP when investigating a suspected abduction case, they must first determine if the case meets their Amber Alert criteria, which includes:

The abduction is of a child age 17 or younger

NAPTIP must have reasonable belief that there has been an abduction.

NAPTIP believes the victim is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or exploitation.

There is enough descriptive information about the victim and suspected abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in recovering the child

Once these criterias have been met, NAPTIP will then notify Meta’s Global Security Operations Centre, which operates 24/7, that a verified AMBER Alert is active. Meta will then send the alert to the News Feeds of people located in targeted search areas in Nigeria.

Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi, the Director General of NAPTIP  also said, “Today we are partnering with Meta to launch the AMBER Alert Programme on Facebook and Instagram to help ensure faster response in finding missing children. With these alerts, more people can be on the lookout for kids reported missing in their vicinity and report all leads to relevant authorities. NAPTIP cherishes every aspect of the intending collaboration and we are indeed glad to be on board with Meta”.

AMBER Alert Programme launched on Facebook in 2015 and since then has assisted in hundreds of successful child endangerment cases in the US and around the world.

One of such cases happened in 2020 when Amanda Disley and her husband helped rescue 11-year-old Charlotte Moccia of Springfield, Massachusetts, after seeing an AMBER Alert on Facebook. Before that, a four-year-old girl was recovered after Kaytlin Brown saw an AMBER Alert issued on Facebook on her lunch break and quickly took action.

In June 2022, Meta added Instagram to the AMBER Alerts Programme across the world by making it available in 28 additional countries, and now, in Nigeria. As part of the launch of AMBER Alerts in Nigeria, Meta and NAPTIP will be educating users in Nigeria on how to identify AMBER Alerts on their feed and what to do when they see an alert.

The post Meta, NAPTIP Launch AMBER Alert Programme In Nigeria To Help Find Missing Children  appeared first on Tech Digest News.

TECHDIGEST – Isa Ali Pantami, a professor of Cybersecurity and the Minster of Communications and Digital Economy, has inaugurated a committee on Child Online Protection,

The Committee, according to the Minister is in line with the global UNICEF advocacy campaign for Protecting children online.

Pantami inaugurated the National Committee on the Development of a Unified National Strategy on Child Online Protection (COP) in Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.

READ ALSO : Pantami Commissions Diaspora NIN Enrolment Centre In Dubai

The committee has members drawn from the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy; Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development; Federal Ministry of Justice; Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC); National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP); Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON); Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN); and Network Against Scam and Cyber Crime.

The move aimed at developing a National Strategy on Child Online Protection (COP) in Nigeria is in alignment with global best practices as identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in a recent policy brief and guidelines issued in 2020.

Recall that the NCC carried out massive campaign between 2019 and 2020, sensitising the Nigerian child on the safe use of the Internet and has constantly given updates on issues relating to cybersecurity.

Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, said that as a result of the ubiquitous availability of Internet access in homes, schools, libraries, mobile phones and so on, children are increasingly becoming involved in the use of new technological applications and taking advantage of the opportunity they provide for learning, research, and entertainment, however, children deserve to be thought about the pros and cons of usage of the internet.

The sensitisation campaign by the Commission amongst other things pushed for enhanced safety online so Nigerian children can competitively engage one another in productive and guided interactions; enabled the provision of a safe and secured cyber space for Nigerian digital citizens, along with promoting positive use and experience from the Internet for children and young people, as well as provide regional advocacy and awareness for Nigerian Child Online Protection Policy and recommend safety measures.

The sensitisation campaign also provided regional awareness incorporating local languages and cultural norms; shared knowledge and experience while facilitating international strategic partnerships to define and implement concrete initiatives as well as increase the understanding of child online safety among government, industry, educators and civil society organisations.

The post Pantami Inaugurates Committee To Develop National Strategy For Child Online Protection appeared first on Tech Digest News.