P & T ministry partners Meta to enhance protection of kids online.

It was under the theme: “Towards a safer internet for children: challenges, responsibilities, and concrete actions”.

The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, chaired the event. The Technical Adviser N°1 at the Ministry, Nlend Raphaël, coordinated the forum.

It was attended amongst others by Meta’s Head of Public Policy for Francophone Africa, Serge Mbengue. 

Presentations on existing reporting mechanisms, available tools and the identification of existing operational gaps formed the substance of discussions. 

Officials said gaps in the protection chain, including awareness raising, preservation of digital evidence and the removal or limitation of harmful content and support to victims remains paramount.

Available protection tools, parental supervision mechanisms, settings applicable to adolescent accounts, reporting frameworks, methods for processing harmful content and opportunities for cooperation with national institutions were presented to participants.

Minister Li Likeng said the forum was within the framework of the 2026 edition of the Day of the African Child which was held last Tuesday June 16.

She said over 60% of social media users in Cameroon are below the age 18. She said actors need to become more aware of the dangers online and to review protection mechanisms.  Engaging Meta, guarantees proper operational cooperation in tackling online abuse of children.

“It is no longer just a question of lamenting what social platforms can do to children. Instead, it is about seeing how all actors can proactively organize themselves. This is not an affair for the State or the government alone; it concerns every single stakeholder,” the minister added.

She thanked Meta platforms for the collaboration, insisting that such partnerships will continue cementing Cameroon’s position among the African countries that have taken strong steps to protect children online.

“Meta is moving toward us precisely because Cameroon is one of the rare countries equipped with a formal charter for online child protection,” she said.

Window to enforce safety

The Head of Public Policy for Meta in Francophone Africa, Serge Mbengue, said the forum was a window to enhance online protection of children in Cameroon.

Mbengue said Meta has invested billions of dollars in hiring teams to work on safety which has led to the development of more than 30 tools and features directed at protecting younger audiences on its platforms.

He said the institution will work selflessly with Cameroon to ensure that the country sufficiently reaps the fruit of its child protection Charter which it made use of in 2023.

“It is a work that we have to do collectively,” Mbengue said, noting that: “At Meta, we believe that young people and all of our users deserve safe experiences and safe spaces. And so, we take the topic of youth online protection very seriously”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3825 of Monday June 22, 2026