Safer Internet Day: What it is and why privacy matters more in 2020

The theme of the Safer Internet Day 2020 is “together for a better internet”. It was started in 2004 as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project.

Laptop and a tablet illustrated to show connectivity. (Getty Images)

Safer Internet Day 2020 will be celebrated on February 11 in around 150 countries across the world. The day aims to create a safer and better internet, where everybody is able to use technology responsibly, respectfully, creatively and critically.

Safer Internet Day is celebrated every year on the second day of the second week of February. Millions of people across the globe come together to bring about positive changes online, raise awareness and take part in events and activities.

The theme of the Safer Internet Day 2020 is "together for a better internet". It was started in 2004 as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project. In 2005, it was taken up by InSafe, a network of European Commission and internet safety bodies, as one of its earliest actions.

Every year Safer Internet Day aims at generating awareness on emerging online issues such as cyberbullying.

Why Safer Internet Day matters more in 2020?

With the advent of smartphone, the dependency of people on the internet has increased multi-fold. There are several social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat where users post personal data and interact with friends as well as strangers.

Internet provides information on the fingertips and is the first place to go to nowadays when a question arises in a person's mind. People rely on the internet to a large extent for every bit of information.

India is the second-largest online market in the world, only after China. According to data by Statista, India alone is expected to have 564.5 million internet users in 2020.

The report forecasts an estimated 492.68 million Indian mobile phone internet users by 2022. Also, the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2019 has ranked data breaches, data theft and cyberattacks among the top five global risks.

To ensure more security and better experience for internet users, Safer Internet Day holds a special significance in 2020.