{"id":8369,"date":"2023-02-06T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.eset.ee\/et\/2023\/02\/06\/online-safety-laws-whats-in-store-for-childrens-digital-playgrounds\/"},"modified":"2023-02-06T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T10:00:00","slug":"online-safety-laws-whats-in-store-for-childrens-digital-playgrounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.eset.ee\/et\/en\/2023\/02\/06\/online-safety-laws-whats-in-store-for-childrens-digital-playgrounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Online safety laws: What\u2019s in store for children\u2019s digital playgrounds?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tomorrow is Safer Internet Day<\/a> (SID), an annual awareness campaign that started in Europe in 2004 and that aims to highlight the need for people to enjoy the benefits of the internet while mitigating their exposure to online risks. Now in its 20th<\/sup> edition, SID has evolved into a landmark event in the global digital safety calendar, with a range of supporting organizations from all over the world working together for a better internet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This challenge becomes even bigger and, indeed, more acute when it comes to keeping children, teens and tweens safe. During the pandemic, kids\u2019 screen time increased 1.5 times<\/a>, making millions of overly confident digital natives vulnerable to scams<\/a>, cyberbullying<\/a>, abuse<\/a> and doxing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As overwhelmed parents, caregivers and educators are trying to keep up with the ever-changing realities of the online world and the growing and emerging risks, kids\u2019 digital safety has evolved into a global concern. Whether you are a caregiver, educator, researcher or have a role in policymaking, there\u2019s a lot we could all be doing to facilitate healthy digital behaviors in the younger and future generations.<\/p>\n

FIRST: From governments to civic organizations<\/h2>\n

Despite all the risks, it is important to remember the benefits of technology: access to information, learning opportunities, socialization, discovery of different cultures and places, and more. Kids are exposed to an unprecedented amount of knowledge. And, inevitably, they will grow up immersed in technology and interconnectivity, making it even more relevant to prepare them for the online world just as we do for any other part of their daily well-being.<\/p>\n

And while parents and educators are in the spotlight, it is safe to say that the way we take care of our kids is regulated by the work of lawmakers who bring into national legislation the matters agreed, for example, in the Convention of the Rights of the Child<\/a>. Thus, lawmakers have an especially important job when it comes to ensuring the privacy and safety of kids online.<\/p>\n

Several government entities at different levels have been working to help ensure the protection of children online. For example, the European Commission\u2019s 2022 Strategy for a better internet for kids<\/a> (BIK+) is \u201cthe digital arm of the rights of the child strategy and reflects the recently proposed<\/a> digital principle that \u2018Children and young people should be protected and empowered online.\u2019\u201d It includes several recommendations on developing age identification methods, a cyberbullying helpline and the need for cooperation with trusted flaggers to swiftly assess and take down illegal content. In parallel, the EU\u2019s Digital Services Act (DSA) requires<\/a> that companies \u201cput the interests of children at the forefront of their considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Simultaneously, a similar discussion is taking place in the United States with the Children and Teens\u2019 Online Privacy Protection Act<\/a> (COPPA 2.0) and the Kids Online Safety Act<\/a> (KOSA).<\/p>\n

The former builds on the existing COPPA law<\/a> that among other things, aims to protect children younger than 13 from websites and online services that ask for their personal information by requesting parental consent with the data collection and use. The latter, meanwhile, recognizes \u201cthe role of social media platforms\u2019 in the mental health crisis\u201d of children and teens. The act is expected to create a \u201cduty of care\u201d under which social media platforms, streaming services and video game makers are responsible for preventing harmful behaviors toward minors,, for example by implementing new content filters and giving new tools for parents.<\/p>\n

To finalize these proposed laws, both EU and US lawmakers have looked to civic organizations, informal groups, NGOs and researchers for advice. In the US case, due to the specific nature of this law, the members of Congress responsible for KOSA included in their hearings the parents of kids who died due to the harmful effect of social media, thus making their voices heard.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, as the legislation made its way to the US Senate, several organizations, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Wikimedia Foundation and the Yale Privacy Lab, addressed a letter to the upper chamber of the Congress<\/a> alerting for the potential \u201cunintended consequences\u201d of passing KOSA. According to these organizations, \u201ccontent filtering is notoriously imprecise; filtering used by schools<\/a> and libraries<\/a> in response to the Children\u2019s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) has curtailed access to critical information such as sex education,\u201d but KOSA could also have \u201cthe practical effect of enabling parental surveillance of 15- and 16-year-olds.\u201d<\/p>\n

SECOND: From academics and researchers to educators<\/h2>\n

In October 2022, four university researchers from North Carolina published a study called \u201cTeacher and School Concerns and Actions on Elementary School Children Digital Safety\u201d<\/a>. The paper \u2013 published in TechTrends, a journal for professionals in the educational communication and technology field \u2013 echoed the concerns of schoolteachers over children\u2019s digital safety, alerting that \u201cwhile children know the online world at a younger age, they do not yet know how to navigate the world safely in terms of privacy and security.\u201d Instead, teachers are left to \u201csupport the digital safety of their students by developing their own professional knowledge of digital safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

These researchers allowed a unique perspective on the problems teachers face by exploring their experiences on students\u2019 digital safety, allowing for a categorization of five important areas of concern:<\/p>\n