Regulatory Push to Strengthen Child Online Safety and Age Assurance on Social Platforms
UK regulators Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued warnings to major social media and video platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube) demanding “urgent steps” to implement more robust age assurance controls to prevent access by children under 13. Regulators signaled potential enforcement if platforms continue relying primarily on easily bypassed self-declared ages, arguing this enables unlawful collection and use of children’s data and exposes under-13s to services not designed for them; Ofcom requested companies report back on their plans by the end of April.
In the US, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act on a party-line vote amid Democratic objections that the bill could reduce platform accountability for harms to minors. Criticisms focused on provisions that could preempt certain state laws, a knowledge requirement that opponents argue may let companies claim ignorance of minors’ presence, and the lack of a proactive “duty of care” requirement; proposed amendments to strengthen protections were not adopted.
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