As digital parenting becomes increasingly complex, a new initiative is underway to enhance online safety for teens across Europe. Recognizing the challenges parents face in monitoring their children's online activities, tech companies, including Instagram, are collaborating with lawmakers to establish clearer guidelines and protections.
Instagram has recently introduced 'Teen Accounts,' a feature designed to provide built-in protections for users under 16. This initiative, which is being rolled out in Europe, automatically limits who can contact teens and filters inappropriate content and comments. Parents must give permission for their teens to modify these settings, ensuring a level of oversight.
However, the current regulatory landscape in Europe is fragmented, with various countries adopting different policies regarding age verification and online experiences for minors. Despite several legislative efforts, including the Digital Services Act and the General Data Protection Regulation, a unified approach to age-appropriate online experiences remains elusive.
To address this, advocates are calling for new EU regulations that would standardize protections across all apps used by teens. Proposed measures include notifying parents when a teen downloads an app, similar to purchase notifications, which would streamline parental approval and enhance age verification processes.
Furthermore, the push for common industry standards aims to ensure that all social media apps provide parental supervision tools and set content guidelines comparable to those for movies and video games. A recent survey indicates strong support among European parents for legislation that mandates parental approval for app downloads for users under 16, highlighting a growing consensus on the need for enhanced online safety for minors.