site.btaChild Rights Organizations Call for Cooperation with Interior Minister on Preventing Online Radicalization

The National Network for Children, the Parents Association and the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association have invited Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev to discuss cooperation on preventing the online radicalization of children and young people, the National Network for Children said on Thursday.

The three organizations operate the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre, the country’s only national body providing daily support to children, parents and professionals. It receives and processes reports of illegal online content, works with the relevant institutions and represents Bulgaria in European networks promoting internet safety.

The invitation follows the August 4 murder of Georgi Kuzev in Plovdiv, for which five teenagers have been charged.

The organizations said the case had drawn attention to growing concern about the online radicalization of children and young people and called for a stronger public commitment to addressing the issue.

They note that Demerdzhiev, then caretaker interior minister, pledged in 2023 to seek ways to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Safer Internet Centre. They said the Centre should now become part of broader policies to prevent radicalization and protect young people.

The Centre continues to operate without State funding despite a sharp increase in reports of illegal content and the online sexual exploitation of children in recent years, the organizations said. This reflects the growing scale of threats in the digital environment, they added.

The Interior Ministry’s General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, through its Cybercrime Directorate, monitors social media for reports of aggression and threats in an effort to prevent similar incidents, Demerdzhiev said Monday.