Prevention of cybercrimes: Facebook & Assam Police to train 10,000 youths

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: With a view to promoting safe online behaviour by spreading awareness about increasing cyber crimes and equipping adolescents with tools and resources to tackle online harm, Facebook (Meta) and Assam Police have jointly launched a digital literacy programme to train 10,000 school and college students of the State in this regard. This has been done because available data indicates that 31 per cent of Internet users in the country are in the 12 to19 age group.

Launching the programme at an event here on Friday, Commissioner of Police Harmeet Singh said: "Social media is the new idiom of communication. We must regulate to stay safe."

He encouraged students to use social media for its positive aspects and not to give it up altogether because of its negative side.

"Follow good, creative pages rather than aimlessly scrolling and not getting the most out of it. The support from the Assam Police is also there for reporting any issue or cybercrime," Singh said.

He also urged parents to avoid 'sharenting' as it invites financial cyber frauds. In this context, he advised people to call the number 1930 to inform about any kind of cyber fraud.

Ghanshyam Dass, Secretary of the IT Department, advised students to double-check before sharing any information with known or unknown persons on social media platforms. "After all, prevention is better than cure," he said.

Satya Yadav, head of Trust & Safety, Facebook India (Meta), said on the occasion: "We are constantly innovating technology to ensure that youth benefit from our platforms while they continue to feel safe. As per reports, 31 per cent of Internet users in India were between the ages of 12-19. With that in mind, this partnership will create an ecosystem that will help in educating young people to use the Internet in a way that is not only safe but is also enabling them to grow."

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