WASHINGTON—Following European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s statement calling for a minimal age restriction on social media entry, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the main assume tank for science and know-how coverage, issued the next assertion from Senior Policy Manager Ash Johnson:
The European Commission’s continued dedication to growing privacy-preserving age assurance applied sciences is a step forward of different jurisdictions that require customers to show over private info to entry elements of the Internet. Secure, nameless age verification may very well be a worthwhile device for safeguarding youngsters on-line whereas minimizing the risk that the majority age verification strategies pose to free speech and privateness.
However, utilizing these applied sciences to impose sweeping restrictions on younger individuals’s entry to social media would undermine their entry to info, expression, and digital participation. Once the EU opens the door to proscribing youngsters from sure on-line providers, it’s unlikely to cease with social media. Online gaming, e-commerce, and synthetic intelligence may very well be subsequent, till there are not any areas left for kids on-line.
As Europe advances its age assurance framework and different on-line security measures, policymakers ought to attempt for a greater steadiness between defending youngsters and making ready them to responsibly have interaction with our fashionable digital world.
Contact: Nicole Hinojosa, [email protected]