THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 11, 2026

As the internet becomes an integral part of childhood, child rights organisation Child Rights and You (CRY) on Tuesday launched a pan-India campaign to promote safer digital behaviour among children, urging users to “pause before clicking, trusting, sharing or posting” online.

The campaign, titled ‘Ting Tong’, will kick off on August 12 and seeks to address growing concerns over cyberbullying, online grooming, image-based abuse, misinformation, privacy breaches and other forms of online exploitation involving children.

India has more than 113 million internet users below the age of 18, making children one of the country's largest online communities. While digital platforms have opened new avenues for learning, creativity and participation, they have also exposed children to rapidly evolving online risks.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau's 2024 report, India recorded more than one lakh cybercrime cases for the first time in 2024. Since 2017, cases of cybercrime against children have risen 20-fold, while offences related to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) have increased 157-fold, CRY said.

Cases involving cyber blackmail, harassment and cyberbullying have also risen sharply, highlighting the growing vulnerability of children in the digital environment.

 “Children today are growing up in two worlds — the physical and the digital. Just as we work to make our homes, schools and neighbourhoods safe, we must also ensure that the digital spaces children inhabit are safe, inclusive and respectful of their rights,” CRY CEO Puja Marwaha said.

 “Online safety is no longer merely a technology issue or a matter of digital hygiene; it is essentially a child protection issue,” she said.

The ‘Ting Tong’ campaign draws on the sound associated with online notifications as a reminder to pause and think before clicking a link, accepting a friend request, sharing a photograph, forwarding information or trusting unknown content.

Marwaha said children alone cannot be made responsible for their online safety and called for a collective effort involving parents, teachers, communities, policymakers, technology companies, the media and civil society.

 “Through Ting Tong, we want to encourage one small yet crucial behavioural change that every one of us can adopt. A simple pause before we click, trust, share or post online can make an enormous difference,” she said.

CRY said the campaign seeks to encourage citizens to play an active role in creating a safer online environment where children can learn, participate and express themselves without fear of harm or exploitation.