The Norwegian Handball Association, the Norwegian Football Association, the Norwegian Volleyball Association, the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association, the Norwegian Bandy Association and the Norwegian Basketball Association have agreed on an agreement regarding the streaming of matches in youth sports.

Automated cameras will be installed in sports halls across the country to broadcast live matches from the 15th grade and above. The idea is that family and friends should be able to take part in matches online in exchange for paying for a MyGame subscription.

At the same time, VG unveiled several unfavorable episodes around which the streaming section has started. This drew strong criticism from various parties. The Children’s Ombudsman also followed the debate and didn’t like what emerged.

– The best interests of children and their right to privacy and personal protection should determine when such services are assessed and launched. It’s disturbing that children who shouldn’t be exposed are exposed. We hope MyGame ensures that such errors do not occur again, and children can rest assured that their privacy will be maintained, specialist adviser Mathias Lia Nordmoen told NTB.

Fear of being abandoned

He further said that the ombudsman had been contacted by the family concerned about the MyGame project.

– We’ve received a small number of inquiries from concerned parents who feel unsafe for their children and need more information. We are concerned that the insecurities surrounding filmmaking may cause some children to no longer want to participate in their sports, said Nordmoen.

The Stine Sofie Foundation has also been one of the sharpest critics of the MyGame project. Already in May last year, he called the platform “a new arena for actors”.

– We see that there are children who should stop playing sports if this becomes the norm, and we will strongly warn against that, Austegaard told NTB.

CEO Lars Setsaa of MyGame does not share the same concerns as the Stine Sofie’s Foundation and the Children’s Ombudsman including:

– Associates with streaming experience experience the opposite. It is voluntary for clubs to have cameras in the halls. Anyone who wants can make a reservation, and it can be done anonymously. Coaches can also book entire teams. The big challenge now is that there is already a lot of unregulated and illegal sports streaming and filming, Setsaa wrote in an email to NTB.

The views of those involved

The children’s ombudsman is concerned that protagonists should have a clear voice in ongoing debates.

– Both those in charge of the system and sport must seek the views of the children concerned, and attach great importance to this. After all, it’s the children who are going to be filmed, and they have to have their say, says Nordmoen.

– Young people should get information about the service and especially the reservation system in such a way that they understand it according to their age, he added.

Setsaa said that MyGame itself has not received any negative reactions in its surveys, and the company is concerned about these views.

– We completely agree with that, and we also missed this perspective in the debate. We primarily film young people from the age of 15 and adults, not children. That’s why we asked those between the ages of 15 and 18 what they thought about streaming their own matches. Not a single player in this age group is negative about streaming, Setsaa wrote.

Reservation options

In MyGame system, there is an option for backup not to be filmed. The company behind the platform has stated that it has an automated system that stops filming if someone has placed an order or needs protection.

Orders are made by logging into the sports MiniIdrett base.

The children’s ombudsman stated that a meeting was held with MyGame management in November last year. Among other things, questions were raised about the reservation system, how unwanted material should be removed and how MyGame ensures that cameras don’t record when they shouldn’t.

Concern for children who for various reasons do not want or need to be filmed is also a topic of conversation.

In the 15 year age group, from which MyGame wants to start streaming, younger children can also participate. Therefore, the lower age limit for who was allowed to make films was set at 13 years.

A number of municipalities, including Oslo, Kristiansand and Bergen, have for now said it is not clear what the MyGame project is as it currently exists. In Bergen, the filming cap will be set at 18. Drammen and Tromsø also want to have political anchors before they are allowed, they say VG Wednesday.

It has been announced that several cities may take the same position in the future.