On Thursday, the United States and Britain announced the creation of a joint working group intended to enhance online safety for children. This is the first of its kind cross-Atlantic initiative that was introduced by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and British Science and Technology Minister Peter Kyle. In it, they called upon tech companies to move faster to protect young users.
The move comes at a time when social media giants such as Instagram and Snapchat face growing criticism over their impact on children’s well-being. Last year, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy pointed to significant concerns involving youth’s use of social media, including body image, disordered eating, quality sleep, and self-esteem among adolescent girls.
Worrying statistics reported by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Young Children about exposing a participation of 43% of cases on handling devious practises in the dissemination of indecent pictures of children within Britain. Thirdly, Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, found that their names were tagged in 33% of crimes involving child abuse on social media.
To that, social media companies, such as Snap and Meta, have promised to cooperate with the authorities in order to make protections for young users more robust than ever. Companies further claimed that they had brought new tools that feature parental controls to help protect teens when online.
Lawmakers from both countries have been actively pursuing new regulations on online platforms for the past few years. In the US, two important bills passed into law by the Senate-the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, often referred to as Coppa 2.0-and the Kids Online Safety Act or Kosa-are waiting for a vote in the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, across the sea, in the UK, the Online Safety Act is to come into force by the end of 2024. The bill makes social media companies liable to bar obscene or age-inappropriate content, suc as pornography, from being seen by children, and it must verify age while ensuring such access is cut off. According to a report, failure to comply may attract a fine of up to £18 million ($22.3 million) or 10% of a company’s worldwide turnover over a year.
Peter Kyle also believed that international cooperation has to be precious. He added, “The digital world has no borders and we need to be working with our international partners like the US—one of our closest allies and home to the biggest tech firms—is essential.”.
