Google steps up online safety efforts in India

Google on Wednesday announced that it has stepped up its commitment to online safety in India with a slew of new programs and initiatives.

Announced at the virtual ‘Google for India’ event, these investments include expanding resources in its trust and safety teams in India, the launch of a newly enhanced Google Safety Centre in 8 regional languages, and user education programs focused on online safety for kids and families.

“As we continue to invest in making the internet helpful for over a billion Indians, we value the trust our users place in us more than anything else. We are committed to protect our users every day by using the world’s most advanced security infrastructure, treating their data with the utmost responsibility, and giving them complete control over their data,” Sanjay Gupta, Country Manager and Vice President, Google India, said in a statement.

In addition to launching the global ‘Be Internet Awesome’ program for kids in India, Google will also partner with Indian comic book publisher Amar Chitra Katha to interweave critical internet safety lessons through popular comic book characters across eight Indian languages.

The launch of the newly expanded Safety Centre in Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu, and in Bengali, Tamil, and Gujarati by year-end, will serve as a single destination dedicated to educating and empowering Google’s users on the importance of digital safety covering important topics like data security, privacy controls, and online protections.

Designed and crafted by digital safety experts to help children, families, and educators learn about staying safe online, the ‘Be Internet Awesome’ toolkit includes a visual, interactive experience called ‘Interland’, where children can learn the fundamentals of online safety and participate in a series of fun, challenging games.