Save the Children congratulates President von der Leyen’s leadership, expressed in today’s State of the European Union address, to creating safer digital environments for children, by holding technology companies accountable. This is an essential step towards a digital world where every child can fully enjoy their rights and be protected from harm.
“Children should not have to endure harmful content, manipulative design or unwanted contact as the price of being online. Yet many tell us they see these experiences as inevitable. We cannot accept that. The digital world must be designed with children's rights, safety and wellbeing at its core. Enough is enough.” - Francesca Centola, Advocacy Advisor Children’s Rights in the digital environment, Save the Children Europe
"For too long, children have been expected to navigate digital environments that were not designed with their rights in mind. Today's message from President von der Leyen sends an important signal: responsibility for children's safety in digital environments lies with digital service providers. Europe has both the responsibility and the power to act” - Francesca Centola, Advocacy Advisor Children’s Rights in the digital environment, Save the Children Europe
Safety-by-design must remain the foundation of the EU approach to online safety. Stronger accountability for providers that rely on harmful functionalities will help foster a digital ecosystem that rewards safer, rights-respecting innovation and creates space for alternatives that prioritise children's safety, rights and participation by design.
Save the Children welcomes:
- the strong focus on safety by design and greater accountability for technology companies.
- the recognition that children are not a homogeneous group and therefore require tailored age-appropriate experiences.
- the announcement of a wider framework with the Digital Fairness Act.
With the EU Kids Act to be introduced tomorrow, we call for an EU approach that protects and empowers children, enabling them to thrive in digital environments. This means:
- A balanced approach where tiered age-based measures complement, rather than replace, safety-by-design,
- Age-based restrictions that are targeted at harmful features and functionalities and proportionate to other children’s rights,
- Age based restrictions that are backed up by robust, privacy preserving age verification
- Digital literacy and education, with concrete guidance for parents and other adults, as part of the solution.
- Children’s rights promoted across all digital services [Social media + approach]
- Proper enforcement of current and upcoming legislation, and coherence among them.
"The EU has a unique opportunity to set a global benchmark for embedding children’s rights across the digital landscape. The success of this agenda will depend on ensuring that protection, participation and empowerment go hand in hand” Centola says.
