LONDON: Google has urged Internet users across the Middle East and North Africa to remain vigilant while surfing the web in an educational campaign to help people stay safer online and learn more about how to protect their privacy on the occasion of Safer Internet Day.
“We’re committed to helping people across the region to learn more about how they and their loved ones can stay safe online and safeguard their privacy,” Dalia Elfiki, Google’s MENA Communications and Public Affairs Manager, told Arab News.
“We hope that the #SaferArabicInternet campaign helps people of all ages to discover a few simple and impactful steps to manage their data online and to have a safer online experience.”
With Feb. 9 marking Safer Internet Day, Google launched the #SaferArabicInternet campaign that involves Arab web users engaging in privacy checkups using a feature that helps people manage their privacy settings across a range of Google products.
In a drive to educate children across the Arab world on the importance of online safety, as well as how to safely browse the internet, Google announced a partnership with Injaz Al-Arab — a non-profit organization that drives youth entrepreneurship education.
It also teamed up with Ministries of Education in Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Morocco to train 26,000 students on Abtal Al Internet — Arabic for “Champions of the Internet” — an online safety program for children.
For Google account holders, running a privacy checkup allows the safeguarding of their privacy and data across a range of products.
The Internet giant will also share daily tips between Feb. 9 and 15 through Google Arabia’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, to help people learn how to protect their data and have a safe experience online.
Each year, more than 200 million people use Google’s privacy checkup. Those who complete it can share a “badge,” and are encouraged to invite five friends and family members to do the same and help create a safer Arabic web.
