On April 3, the Standing Committee on Social Policy of the State Great Khural of Mongolia organized a discussion on the topic "Protection of Children in the Digital Environment."

The discussion was moderated by Member of Parliament B. Jargalmaa, and Member of Parliament B. Bayarsaikhan, the initiator of the law on Protection of Children's Rights in the Digital Environment, delivered the main presentation. In addition, M. Naranzul, Head of the non-governmental organization "Edit learning hub", made a speech on the topic "Digital environment and children's safety", and J. Erkhembaatar, the Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Communications, gave a speech on the topic "Child protection and legal environment in the digital environment." 

Member of Parliament B. Bayarsaikhan pointed out that we are benefiting from digital technology and electronic communication, but in this environment, how to protect human rights, including the rights of children who are unable to defend themselves, is becoming one of the pressing problems facing all countries of the world. It was reported that countries have defined their policies for the protection of children's rights in the online environment and have passed laws with detailed regulations. In 2016, when the Law on Child Protection was approved, the issue of protecting children's rights in the online environment was included as a group, but it was excluded during the discussion and could not be reflected in the law. She mentioned this in her report and said that international organizations and consultants always recommend to immediately approve and implement the law on the protection of children's rights in the online environment. She presented survey results of domestic and foreign research organizations and institutions on how children's rights are violated in the online environment, and touched upon the fact that children are subjected to many forms of violence such as insults, exclusion, bullying, harassment, attempts of sexual exploitation in the online environment.

According to her, 92 children committed suicide in 2012-2016 due to online discrimination and harassment. Also, according to the results of the national baseline survey, 82.5 percent of children under the age of 18 have been bullied by peers, and 37 percent have received lewd or threatening chats or messages from strangers online. In addition, according to the statistics of the CyberTips database on the study of cyber-sexual exploitation of children by the International Organization for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, in 2019-2020, cybercrime increased by 28 percent globally, while it increased by 132 percent in Mongolia. "It's attracting a lot of attention," she said. She warned that these statistical indicators and figures indicate that the problem of children's safety in the online environment has reached a serious level. She asked the panelists whether to pass an independent law on this matter, and presented the draft law that she had developed and uploaded to the Parliament's electronic system www.d.parliament.mn, which is receiving opinions from citizens and the public.

M. Naranzul, Head of "Edit learning hub" NGO, confirmed the situation she mentioned again in his speech "Electronic environment and children's safety." He emphasized the danger posed by the online environment to Mongolian children, especially small children. Small children develop attention deficit disorder by watching videos such as Cocomelon with hyperstimulating or overly stimulating content on social networks, very short (1-2 seconds), high rhythm, while psychoactive characters such as Momo, which appear in the middle of YouTube videos, scare children, make them restless and depressed. At the same time, it creates risky situations such as suicide by flying from a height, turning on the gas in your house, cutting your hands with a knife, and believing that your family hates you. Recently, the content of Haggy Waggy, which is popular among young children, not only uses offensive and vulgar language, but also involves the use of bloody murders, dangerous weapons and knives.

M. Naranzul mentioned that in the world, especially in developed countries, considerable budgets and funds are spent on measures to ensure the safety of children in the online environment, including measures to protect the mental and psychological health of children. He pointed out that news websites write a lot of dark things about violence, murder, immorality and degradation, which has a negative effect on the psychology of children. As a result of all this, he gave an example of the fact that children suffer from psychological, spiritual and mental injuries from a small age.

J. Erkhembaatar, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Communications, in his speech "Child Protection and Legal Environment in the Electronic Environment", stated based on facts that the use of social networks by Mongolians has doubled from the "normal, safe and appropriate" level, including the use of social media by children is 96 percent. He said that behind this number, which can be said to be 100 percent, there are social media tools that do not operate in Mongolia and are always connected from foreign countries, which is a problem. He also said that children who use social networks spend too much time on the Internet, open two or more accounts, escape from the control of their parents, and use the Internet without the knowledge and skills to ensure their own safety, which is the root cause of the problem. He said that according to their obligations under child protection and other laws, Mongolian government agencies are doing certain things, but as of today, there are no significant results other than blocking the offending websites. In his speech, the Deputy Minister noted that the legal framework for the protection of children's rights in the online environment is insufficient, and expressed his opinion that it is necessary to issue an independent law and implement detailed regulations.

Representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs, Department of Family, Children and Youth Development, General Police Department, Telecommunications Regulatory Department, and activists of non-governmental organizations working in the field of child rights protection participated in the discussion.