The interagency Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, which was created last year and is led by the Department of Commerce (through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and the Department of Health and Human Services (through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), released a report on protecting minors online, Online Health and Safety for Children and Youth: Best Practices for Families and Guidance for Industry. The report highlights the benefits and harms of digital media to minors’ health, safety, and privacy and provides guidance for parents and industry. It also identifies knowledge gaps and areas for future research.
The report provides ten recommendations for businesses to promote safe practices for children and teens online:
- Design age-appropriate experiences.
- Make privacy protections for youth the default.
- Reduce and remove features that encourage excessive or problematic use.
- Deploy mechanisms and strategies to counter child sexual exploitation and abuse.
- Improve systems to identify and address bias and discrimination online.
- Use data-driven methods to detect and prevent cyberbullying and other forms of online harassment and abuse.
- Provide age-appropriate parental control tools that are easy to understand and use.
- Make data accessible for verified, qualified, and independent research.
The Task Force also advocates for additional efforts at the federal level, including bipartisan legislation to promote accountability for online platforms. Congress has wasted no time advancing legislative efforts to expand protections for minors online, including the introduction of a new version of the Kids Online Safety Act and updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0 bill. On July 25, 2024, the Senate invoked cloture on both bills, which will likely proceed to a floor vote next week. These efforts are set against the backdrop of significant developments at the state level, including a challenge to the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act on First Amendment grounds and a Ninth Circuit decision that COPPA does not preempt state privacy claims. More recently, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases involving the constitutionality of laws in Texas and Florida implicating the scope of First Amendment rights of social media platforms. The courts, Congress, state legislatures, and federal agencies are all looking to expand legal protections for kids and teens in the online ecosystem, and changes could affect businesses that do not consider themselves to be in the kid or teen space.