On June 25, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA) held a ceremony to announce the basic standard TCCS:03/2024-VNISA, titled 'Basic Technical Requirements for Products and Services to Protect Children Online'.

The development and issuance of these standards by VNISA is a practical step to implement the 'Program to Protect and Support Children to Interact Healthily and Creatively in the Online Environment for the period 2021-2025', approved by the Prime Minister on June 1, 2021.

VNISA Chairman Nguyen Thanh Hung, former Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, highlighted the importance of safeguarding children online given the Internet's many potential risks. He emphasized the necessity for parents and teachers to utilize products and services that help children study, communicate, and play safely in the digital world.

Recognizing this need, VNISA has actively encouraged its members to invest in the research and development of child protection solutions. The aim is to build a comprehensive ecosystem for safeguarding children online in Vietnam.

To enhance the quality of such products and foster market development, VNISA assigned the Vietnam Cyber Child Protection Club (VCSC) to draft the standards. The draft received input from relevant agencies and organizations and was evaluated by the VNISA Basic Standards Appraisal Council.

“We believe that these standards will guide research and product development and will be well-received by numerous agencies, organizations, businesses, and experts working in the field of online child protection in Vietnam,” Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung shared.

Nguyen Duc Tuan, Acting Director of the Vietnam Cyberspace Emergency Response Center (VNCERT/CC), part of the Ministry of Information and Communications, praised VNISA and Vietnamese information security enterprises for their efforts. He noted that the issuance of these standards lays a fundamental foundation for developing high-quality, locally made products that meet international standards. This initiative also assists foreign enterprises in assessing the suitability of their products for the Vietnamese market.

Mr. Tuan believes that with the collaboration of state agencies, enterprises, organizations, and society, Vietnam can not only develop a robust ecosystem of products and services for child online protection but also build a comprehensive database to prevent harmful content for children online. This will create a safe and healthy online environment for children to explore, learn, and grow.

Dinh Thi Nhu Hoa, Head of the Inspection Department at VNCERT/CC, emphasized that developing an ecosystem of Vietnamese products and applications to protect children online is a crucial goal of the 'Protecting and Supporting Children to Interact Healthily and Creatively in the Online Environment in the period of 2021-2025' program.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for child protection products was valued at $1.25 billion in 2023, expected to reach $1.4 billion in 2024, and $3.54 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of about 12.3%. In the US, 50% of parents use these products, with 90% finding them useful.

In Vietnam, although specific market statistics are lacking, there is a significant demand from parents and teachers for effective products to manage children's Internet use. The Vietnamese market offers various solutions, including those from domestic enterprises such as SafeGate Family by SCS, Mobile Guard by CyRadar, Cyber Purify, and V-Safe.

"This is a positive signal showing the participation of domestic and foreign enterprises in developing safe products to protect children online," Ms. Dinh Thi Nhu Hoa commented.

VNISA will receive dossiers for the assessment of products and services that meet the basic standards TCCS:03/2024-VNISA in July and August 2024. The first batch of qualified products is expected to be announced in November 2024 at the Vietnam Information Security Day 2024 event.

Van Anh