In response to Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 taking effect, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a statement highlighting several valid human rights concerns and more appropriate alternatives to outright age bans, which they note can “come with their own risks, and they may even backfire.”
UNICEF underscores the importance of striking the appropriate balance between providing effective, evidence-based solutions while also respecting the privacy of youth and their right to participate in an integral aspect of modern society.
The statement calls attention to two key issues with blanket bans, including the destruction of positive benefits that young people can reap from social media and the safety issues that the restrictions can create. UNICEF emphasizes how:
“Social media is not a luxury – for many children, especially those who are isolated or marginalised, it is a lifeline providing access to learning, connection, play, and self-expression. What’s more, many children and young people will still access social media, whether through workarounds, shared devices, or turning to less regulated platforms, ultimately making it harder to protect them.”
These are two prominent points that call into question the overall effectiveness of blanket bans in achieving children’s online safety and overall welfare. UNICEF presents several alternatives, including creating regulatory measures against harm and promoting educating parents on digital literacy, calling for collaboration between government, industry and families “to build digital environments that are safe, inclusive, and respect children’s rights.” They put particular emphasis on the need to “amplify the voices and lived experiences of children, young people, parents, and caregivers in debates on social media age limits,” which are too often left out of the discussion by government officials.
This mirrors NetChoice’s Digital Safety Shield for America, a policy blueprint that promotes lawmakers working together to protect kids, empower parents and stop digital criminals online, while still upholding the rights of Americans.
Our meaningful and lawful policy solutions are:
- Investing in law enforcement for child safety so they can successfully stop predators and cybercriminals targeting children online.
- Locking up more predators and cybercriminals who target children on digital services.
- Implementing digital education in the classroom so young Americans can learn to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly into adulthood.
- Helping parents learn about parental control tools and resources currently offered on digital services to help keep their kids safe.
- Crafting narrowly tailored, clearly defined rules that punish bad actors who abuse digital tools like generative artificial intelligence (AI) to hurt children while respecting the protected rights of Americans.
- Securing a federal data privacy framework to protect children, families, and ALL Americans online.
The already overwhelming task of being a parent has certainly been difficult in the digital age. In 2023, 70% of U.S. parents reported feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities. This comes as tech is ever-evolving, and about two-thirds of U.S. households today encompass families where both parents are employed and around 25% of children are being raised in single-parent households.
But every child has different needs, and parents and guardians are best positioned to address them, not government officials. Politicians dabbling in parenting children often ends poorly, as seen in recent controversies in education, which ultimately neglects students’ learning potential and critical thinking abilities in favor of the government’s agenda.
Companies and organizations across the country are responding to calls for greater child safety measures, consistently innovating and adjusting as they receive feedback from parents. At their core, the companies providing these tools are striving to effectively do what they can to assist parents in this new and dynamic landscape. There are several examples of platform-specific controls, like those provided by YouTube, Google and Duolingo, among others.
Nonprofits like InternetMatters.org also serve as important databases of resource guides providing information and advice to parents. Internet Matters works with corporate and third-sector organizations to curate the most helpful experience possible for parents. Furthermore, parents can look into third-party apps and devices that were created with the intent to help families and consumers more broadly limit app usage and screen time, like Kid360 and Brick. Brick is a physical device that temporarily blocks apps, allowing parents to control when kids can regain access once they have tapped their phone to the Brick again.
These are just a few examples of the plethora of tools available to today’s parents, and parental controls are just one piece of the puzzle. As an academic journal article on “Stranger Danger!” calls for, there is a need “to shift from fear-based responses to more rational responses that actually work to protect the most vulnerable populations of children.” This still rings true in the digital age, and we look forward to coming together to start advancing solutions that both protect children and enable them to thrive.