Focus area
Protect children online
At Tele2, we believe that being a true challenger means taking responsibility where it matters most. As a leading connectivity provider, we are at the heart of the digital lives of millions of families. Our customers trust us not only to connect them but to do so responsibly. Especially for their children - the most vulnerable connected citizens.
We work on two fronts to create a safer digital environment for children. First, we provide smart technical solutions that help families block harmful or inappropriate content. Second, we offer expert guidance and practical advice to parents and children, empowering them to navigate the online world in a healthy and informed way.
When children can explore the internet safely, they gain access to knowledge, creativity, and social interaction without unnecessary risks. By reducing exposure to harmful content and supporting healthy digital habits, we help prevent physical and mental harm. This benefits families, schools, and society as a whole, because a safer digital world for children is a stronger, more resilient society for everyone.
Our ambition
By 2027, Tele2’s leadership in protecting and empowering children online will be one reason why customers choose Tele2. We will achieve this by being a first mover in adopting smart technical solutions for child safety and giving parents insights and guidance to feel confident in their family’s digital life.
Our goals
Tele2 is committed to continuously improve its methods and tools for blocking access to child sexual abuse material in its network. Through close collaboration with external child rights experts, Tele2 aims to identify, evaluate and implement any new tools or blocking lists that result in an increasing number of blocked attempts. Furthermore, Tele2 is committed to continuous improvement of its practices from a child rights perspective. To measure progress, we benchmark Tele2’s performance in Global Child Forum’s children’s rights rating score against global peers.
Targets
- Increase blocked attempts to access child sexual abuse material in its networks by 10% per year.
- Improve index score in Global Child Forum children’s rights rating score to a market leading position.
Achievements in 2024
7,130,113 Blocked attempts to access child sexual abuse material
8.7 Global Child Forum children’s rights rating score
Examples of our efforts and activities
Understanding children's online habits
Learning about the online habits of children is an important tool for understanding both the risks of a connected life and the services and knowledge needed to provide a safe online environment. Over recent years, we have conducted a number of surveys designed to provide insights that allow us to tailor the services we provide to parents and children and the information they need. The most recent survey was conducted in 2024, where we asked one thousand children and teenagers and one thousand parents about their experiences online.
Ceaselessly blocking and detecting child sexual abuse content
We cannot act directly against the perpetrators that abuse children, but we can try to stop their content from spreading. Based on lists from authorities such as Interpol and the Swedish police, we continuously block attempts to access web pages that have been classified as containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in all countries where we operate. Tele2 is currently the only telco in Sweden to have adopted additional blocking lists from Project Arachnid. Project Arachnid is a blocking tool developed by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection that uses innovative technology to detect, analyse and identify CSAM in collaboration with a selection of international hotlines, such as ECPAT Sweden.
Furthermore, we actively run detection software internally on all employees' computers to detect child sexual abuse material. If an employee has child sexual abuse material on his or her computer, or even on an USB stick that is connected to the computer, an alarm is sent to our security department. The case is then handed over to the police. Just like our online blocking, the detection is based on lists from authorities such Interpol and the Swedish police.
Child Rights Impact Assessment
Tele2 has conducted a Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) based on the UNICEF MO-CRIA: Child Rights Impact Self-Assessment Tool for Mobile Operators. The purpose of the CRIA was to identify actual and potential negative impact on child rights that Tele2 may be involved in through our business operations, partnerships, and across our value chain, to ensure that we are taking sufficient action to mitigate any negative impact and help support children’s rights. More details and results from the latest assessment can be found in our 2025 CRIA report.
Partnerships
Tele2 partners with selected child rights organisations to help support a broader impact from our actions, better integrate a child rights perspective into our operations and to gain valuable knowledge and insights into the realities children and young people are facing. These include, among others, Ecpat Sweden, The Swedish Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia’s Foundation and Child X. Read more about our partnerships here.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
This focus area aims towards the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Peace, justice and strong institutions
Partnerships for the goals
