The annual observance of Safer Internet Day took place this week, a global initiative aimed at fostering responsible, respectful, critical and creative technology use. Since its inception in 2004, the date has mobilized millions of individuals, organizations, and educational institutions to reflect on how to build a safer digital environment, with a particular focus on children and young people.
Over the past two decades, the internet has become an indispensable tool for daily life, providing access to online education, enabling communication across distances, facilitating commerce, supporting remote work, and offering entertainment through streaming services and video games. According to the European Commission, the internet is a powerful tool with enormous opportunities for learning and acquiring recent skills.
However, this growth has also brought new risks, demanding increased user awareness. The exposure of personal data, contact with strangers, use of public networks, and fraudulent emails continue to be major entry points for scams and digital attacks, making digital literacy and adult supervision for minors crucial. The Día de Internet Segura, celebrated annually, aims to both raise awareness and take concrete measures to protect children and young people.
More than 30 years after the widespread adoption of the internet, the digital ecosystem is at an inflection point marked by the expansion of artificial intelligence and the rise of cybercrime. Federico Aragona, a specialist at the cybersecurity firm F5, warned that “cybercrime is advancing much faster than it can be contained.” He noted that fraud no longer targets only users with limited technological knowledge, but also advanced profiles, in a model designed to broaden the attack surface on a large scale.
Aragona emphasized that true protection does not depend solely on technical solutions, but on training and clear ethical boundaries in the use of artificial intelligence. He underscored that even when tasks are delegated to automated systems, humans must retain the architecture of decision-making. The Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad (INCIBE), representing Spain within the INSAFE network, is dedicated to raising awareness, providing assistance, and offering training to children, young people, parents, and teachers to promote safer online navigation.
Aragona concluded that digital security is, above all, a conscious human decision about data use and the degree to which technology is integrated into daily life. The Día de Internet Segura invites a rethinking of habits, policies, and individual and collective responsibilities, in a scenario where digital literacy is as important as connectivity, and where every click involves a choice about privacy, trust, and the digital future.
The initiative, which began in 2004 as a project called SafeBorders funded by the EU, now reaches millions of people in approximately 200 countries and territories. The second Tuesday of February is now recognized internationally as Safer Internet Day, with the 2025 observance taking place on February 11th, and the 2026 date being February 10th, as noted by the Día Internacional de Internet Seguro.
