News Overview

It has long been an open secret that many manipulative tricks are used, especially in mobile games for smartphones and tablets. Players are persuaded to use the app more often and for longer periods of time in order to spend as much money as possible. Children and young people are also the victims of these practices. Many of these mobile games are available for free and their design makes them attractive to children. The European Commission's Consumer Protection Network has now presented guidelines to prevent rip-offs in video games in the future.

Numerous materials for media education project work can be found online. However, these are mostly prepared for professionals. With the Snacks, Handysektor offers peer-to-peer materials for young people that pupils can use to independently implement media literacy projects at their school. A new topic package on fake news and artificial intelligence has now been published in the material series.

Baden-Württemberg and Hesse have announced that uniform rules for smartphones in schools will apply in these federal states in future. Even if not all the details of the exact structure are known yet, the announcements are already causing a stir. This is because there have been discussions for years about whether there should be binding rules for all schools under the heading "cell phone ban". We explain what is known about the plans so far. And we show what measures schools can already take to sensibly monitor the use of smartphones in schools.

Conspiracy narratives characterize many extremist movements and can lead to dangerous radicalization and violence. But they can also give rise to and reinforce anti-democratic attitudes beyond extremist structures. Those affected by conspiracy thinking and those around them can now obtain confidential advice online and by telephone from the new "Conspiracy Thinking Advice Compass". The platform is open to all those affected and those seeking advice and is part of a joint project by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs and the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home Affairs.

TikTok is one of the world's most popular social media platforms and is also very popular with children and young people in Germany. According to the terms of use, the minimum age for TikTok is 13. Five years ago, TikTok introduced supervised mode for underage users, which gives legal guardians more insight and control over their children's TikTok use. Accompanied mode is now being expanded to include three new functions. We provide information about the new features and give tips for media education.

Lent often means giving up sweets, meat or alcohol - but we can also consciously give up digital media. Being online all the time, scrolling through social media or being distracted by push notifications can cause stress. With our Digital Detox Challenge, we provide tips on how parents can reflect on their own media consumption together with their children and work towards more conscious media use.

Fortnite is the perennial favorite among online games. Around eight years after its release, Fortnite is still one of the most popular games for children. The following change is particularly important for parents and guardians: Fortnite now also allows content with an age rating of 16 and above. We answer the most important questions for parents: What exactly is the content in question? Why is Fortnite still rated from the age of 12? And what options do parents have to protect their children?

Taking part in risky tests of courage has always been a typical developmental behavior of many children and young people. Today, tests of courage are spreading as challenges on youth-oriented platforms such as TikTok or YouTube. Many online challenges are harmless, but others involve health risks. And this is exactly what the new commercial from the initiative "SCHAU HIN! What your child does with media." aims to sensitize parents and educators.

The 34th edition of "Digitale Spiele - Pädagogisch beurteilt" provides parents with information on current video games for children and young people. The special feature is that young gamers from Spieleratgeber NRW have their say and present the results of their game tests. In addition to the official age rating from the USK, each game also comes with an educational recommendation as to which target group the game is suitable for. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth provides the current issue on its website for downloading and ordering.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) has been in force in the EU for a year now. The DSA is referred to in many current debates on internet security. For example, when it comes to disinformation campaigns. Or the worrying influence of individuals such as Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg on large social media platforms. What exactly does the DSA do? What dangers does the law protect us from? And what are the allegations of censorship all about?

Young people are increasingly voting for a party that is being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist. This was shown by surveys and the results of last year's European elections. This trend can also be seen in other European countries. In a new worksheet, pupils learn about the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party manifesto and compare key statements from it with the German Basic Law and the EU Treaty. Pupils can use specific examples to explore the topic of democracy in the context of the 2025 federal elections.

Safer Internet Day (SID) 2025 was celebrated worldwide on February 11. Together with the partners of the Safer Internet DE association, klicksafe is implementing the motto "No likes for lies! Recognize extremism, populism and deepfakes online" with a wide range of activities. With our digital school lesson, we were able to educate over 31,000 schoolchildren across Germany about right-wing extremist propaganda and disinformation online. In Berlin, we organized a dialogue panel with pupils, experts and Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus. A big thank you to everyone who helped make this year's SID such a success. The SID may be over, but there are still many more activities throughout February. More than 300 campaigns were registered with klicksafe for the SID. In our article you will get impressions and an overview of this special day.

Today is the day: We are celebrating Safer Internet Day (SID)! Over 300 events have been registered for the day of action across Germany. Together with numerous partners throughout Germany, a wide range of offers for young people, parents and educational professionals will be presented under the motto "No Likes for Lies". There is sure to be something for you too! But you can also help make the internet safer for children and young people today on social media or with our many new materials for teachers, parents and young people!

In the klicksafe expert talk on the topic of "Preventing extremism", we speak to psychologist and extremism expert Ahmad Mansour. In his youth, the Palestinian-Arab Israeli experienced a phase of radicalization himself and belonged to an Islamist group. After experiencing an attack, he moved to Germany in 2004 and has been involved in the prevention of extremism for many years. In the klicksafe expert talk, he explains how we can protect young people from extremist propaganda on the internet.

To mark Safer Internet Day (SID) on February 11, JUUUPORT is releasing a new educational video about deepfakes and associated dangers such as blackmail with nude photos and cyberbullying. The video entitled "Deceptively real! What you should know about deepfakes" was produced with the support of the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media (BLM). It raises young people's awareness of the risks of AI-generated fakes on the internet at a low threshold and shows them how they can get help.