The first meeting of the working group for the legal aspects of child online protection in the Arab region was held in Algiers, Algeria, during 25- 26 February, 2013.

The group formed by the Arab regional International Telecommunication Union (ITU) office, works on coordinating efforts and unifying visions of Arab countries towards the legal aspects of child online protection. It also plays a complementary role with the ITU regarding cyber-security in general and more specifically, child online protection.

During the meeting, the terms and conditions for the working system of the group were ratified. Moreover, the president and deputies were announced: Algeria is elected president and Egypt vice-president of the working group.

Furthermore, an Egyptian paper was presented, tackling two pillars: the current legal situation in Egypt for child online protection and suggestions for the working group action plan.

At the end of the meeting, an action plan was set with a first step elaborating a report about the legislations in the Arab countries, and another report about the regional and international agreements adopted by the Arab countries.

The two reports are to be discussed during the second meeting of the working group that will be held in June 2013. This is to elaborate a first draft for the preliminary guidelines of the legal aspects of child online protection in the Arab region.