Online Safety Tracker
Safety-by-Design Initiatives Benchmark launched to monitor the growing list of platforms implementing safer versions of their products for minors
In response to the growing number of tech companies designing safer versions of their platforms for children, we recently developed a Safety-by-Design Initiatives Benchmark in our Online Safety Tracker. We benchmark the services offered, the age group for which they’re intended, the key features of the product, and whether it was developed voluntarily or as the result of regulation. The latest example is from OpenAI with their “ChatGPT for Teens”, which features a dedicated study mode, limitations on risky or unsafe interactions, blocks on sexualised or romantic conversations, and a suite of parental controls. Our benchmark shows that most of these initiatives feature some form of parental controls, such as being able to set time limits or control privacy settings.
So far, all of the initiatives in our benchmark have been developed voluntarily by platforms, rather than imposed by regulators. However, in some countries they are required to offer products for minors with similar features. The case of Meta in the US could be the first where a specific social media platform could be required to implement features for teenage users. Tech companies remain under pressure from both regulators and the general public to make their platforms safer for children, or ban access altogether. According to our Age-Based Restrictions Benchmark, since Australia’s world-first ban came into effect at the end of last year, 24 countries are now considering similar social media bans for minors. Certainly the threat or prospect of a ban could have influenced these platforms to introduce safety-by-design features to prove that they can be safe for children to use. We argue that requiring platforms to develop safer products for minors is likely to be more effective than an outright ban.
Attention is currently on the US where Meta has agreed to settle a trial involving a coalition of 29 states for $16.7bn (£12.2bn), over concerns that Instagram and Facebook harmed children’s wellbeing and violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits the processing of children under the age of 13’s personal data. As part of the settlement, Meta must introduce certain features for minors, including daily limits and overnight blocks, although the settlement remains subject to court approval. Currently, minors are only switched to Instagram’s Teen Accounts when they declare their age to be under 18. The settlement would require Instagram to detect under-18s on its platform using age-assurance, meaning that more teens would be automatically moved to Teen Accounts. In response to the growing number of tech companies designing safer versions of their platforms for children, we recently developed a Safety-by-Design Initiatives Benchmark in our Online Safety Tracker. We benchmark the services offered, the age group for which they’re intended, the key features of the product, and whether it was developed voluntarily or as the result of regulation. The latest example is from OpenAI with their “ChatGPT for Teens”, which features a dedicated study mode, limitations on risky or unsafe interactions, blocks on sexualised or romantic conversations, and a suite of parental controls. Our benchmark shows that most of these initiatives feature some form of parental controls, such as being able to set time limits or control privacy settings.
So far, all of the initiatives in our benchmark have been developed voluntarily by platforms, rather than imposed by regulators. However, in some countries they are required to offer products for minors with similar features. The case of Meta in the US could be the first where a specific social media platform could be required to implement features for teenage users. Tech companies remain under pressure from both regulators and the general public to make their platforms safer for children, or ban access altogether. According to our Age-Based Restrictions Benchmark, since Australia’s world-first ban came into effect at the end of last year, 24 countries are now considering similar social media bans for minors. Certainly the threat or prospect of a ban could have influenced these platforms to introduce safety-by-design features to prove that they can be safe for children to use. We argue that requiring platforms to develop safer products for minors is likely to be more effective than an outright ban.
Attention is currently on the US where Meta has agreed to settle a trial involving a coalition of 29 states for $16.7bn (£12.2bn), over concerns that Instagram and Facebook harmed children’s wellbeing and violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits the processing of children under the age of 13’s personal data. As part of the settlement, Meta must introduce certain features for minors, including daily limits and overnight blocks, although the settlement remains subject to court approval. Currently, minors are only switched to Instagram’s Teen Accounts when they declare their age to be under 18. The settlement would require Instagram to detect under-18s on its platform using age-assurance, meaning that more teens would be automatically moved to Teen Accounts.
