Navigating Digital Parenting: Age Verification and Safety for Teens Online
Parenting in the digital age is challenging. Parents often worry about when to give their child their first phone and how to ensure their safety online. As someone dedicated to protecting children online, I consider ways to create safe and positive experiences for teens on platforms like Instagram.
Parents want to be involved, but keeping track of their teens’ online activities is difficult. Teens use an average of at least 40 apps each week, making it hard for parents to stay informed. Collaboration among technology companies and lawmakers is essential to support parents in managing their teens’ online behavior.
Technology companies are implementing protections to ensure age-appropriate experiences for teens. At Instagram, we have launched Teen Accounts with built-in safeguards such as limited contact options and content filters. However, age verification and content policies vary significantly across platforms, leading to inconsistent protections for young users.
European policymakers have recognized this issue, but there is no standard approach for age verification or age-appropriate experiences. Despite various regulations and directives, such as the Digital Services Act, the protection of minors online remains fragmented. Young people continue to face different experiences based on the apps they use and their location.
To improve this situation, we need new EU regulations that provide clear protections for teens across all apps. Here are some key proposals:
1. Age Verification and Parental Approval
When a teen downloads an app, the operating system or app store should notify their parents. This similar approach to purchase approvals helps parents verify their child’s age and allows apps to provide suitable experiences. This system also simplifies how parents can manage their teens’ app usage.
2. Consistent Content Standards with Parental Features
There should be unified standards across platforms regarding what is considered age-appropriate. Similar to Teen Accounts, apps should offer parental supervision features, allowing parents to set time limits on app usage. An industry alignment on content appropriateness is crucial, mirroring standards used for movies and video games.
3. Harmonized Regulation Across the EU
Effective solutions require legislation that applies uniformly across all EU Member States. A new EU regulation establishing consistent standards for apps would greatly assist parents and teens. We have proposed a framework to the European Commission that reflects this need, which many in the industry support.
Research shows that many European parents favor stronger regulations. For instance, nearly 75% of parents in a recent survey support a law requiring parental approval for teens under 16 to download apps. This perspective is particularly strong among parents in Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany.
As technology continues to change, it’s vital to equip parents and teens with tools for safe online experiences. Collaborating with industry and regulators across Europe will help create solutions that ease the challenges parents face.