Happy Safer Internet Day! Today marks the seventh edition of the event. Celebrations are taking place in more than 60 countries on all 5 continents across the world, from Canada to South Korea, and Russia to Kenya and including all 27 countries of the European Union.

" Online safety concerns all of us. Young people across Europe spend a good part of their leisure time, playing, interacting and learning on the web. The overall traffic on social networking sites has grown enormously over the last three years," said Viviane Reding, patron of Safer Internet Day for the sixth consecutive year, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. "Therefore, it is even more our responsibility as Europeans to make the online world a safe and secure environment that everyone can enjoy."

Safer Internet Day 2010 celebrates the theme "Think B4 U Post". Once an image is posted online, it’s hard, if not impossible, to take it back. Anyone can see it. The goal is not to prevent young people from using these sites, but to make them aware of the risks of sharing personal information online and to encourage them to control their online identity by thinking carefully about the consequences.

Visit www.saferinternet.org and look up the website of your national awareness center to get tips on how to protect your privacy online. To learn more about Safer Internet Day meetings in your region or at the international level this year, stay posted at: www.saferinternetday.org and check out the SID fair www.sidfair.org.

About Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day is part of a global drive by awareness-raising partners to promote a safer Internet for all users, especially young people. It is organised by INSAFE in the framework of the European Commission’s Safer Internet Programme.