Grooming, the technique used by paedophiles to entice minors into sexual relations, is to be made a criminal offence, the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology said yesterday.
"To date paedophiles cannot be prosecuted for grooming a minor and this is an added obstacle to the authorities trying to combat cyber-crime. The inclusion of grooming as a criminal offence will enable the prosecution of the preparatory acts (usually in the form of 'luring') potentially leading to the physical abuse of the minor," the ministry said.
Europe is today celebrating Internet Safety Day. The ministry said it has identified internet safety as one of its priorities.
One of its main initiatives has been an agreement with Childnet International, a UK based non-profit organisation, that led to the distribution of informative leaflets in local schools and a number of seminars for parents interested in being given more information on how to stay safe online.
The ministry said child abuse was one of the major threats that came with the internet and the development of technology. The EU, it said, was giving a lot of weight to this problem and had issued a number of directives in order to help create the much desired secure environment.
One EU initiative is the Safer Internet Programme, through which grants are channelled to countries interested in setting up a national hotline to address the abuse of children over the internet. Malta, through the ministry responsible for IT and the Agenzija Appogg, has submitted a proposal to set up a national hotline.
The hotline will be an extension to the existing Support Line 179 which currently deals with various social problems related to children, domestic and other abuse.
The EU will provide funding to train staff and partially subsidise the additional human resources needed to deal with internet-related cases and queries. It will also fund improvements in the infrastructure within the organisation.
Support Line 179 will become the reference point for all those people who may encounter dangers while using the internet. It will also provide advice on the measures that can be taken to ensure a safe online domestic environment.
The support line will be working in close collaboration with the police cyber-crime unit, which has gained valuable experience of this kind of abuse and the best methods to address it, the ministry said.
In addition to these initiatives the ministry will also work to establish a National Cyber-Crime Task Force which will bring together all major stakeholders in the cyber-security field.
The task force, to be launched later this year, will analyse current laws and recommend proposed amendments in line with European and international developments.
It will also look at ways to improve the national security infrastructure and increase "online confidence" among the public and business community.