Recommendation

Congress should require device makers and platforms hosting age-restricted content to establish a “child flag” system.

Details

Congress should pass legislation requiring device operating systems to create an opt-in “trustworthy child flag” for user accounts, available when first setting up a device and later in a device’s settings, that signals to apps and websites that a user is underage and requiring apps and websites that serve age-restricted content to check for this signal for their users and block underage users from this content. Simultaneously, Congress should amend COPPA’s actual knowledge standard so that websites directed at a general audience with common features, such as user feedback forms or customer service chatbots, are not required to obtain parental consent to collect information from users indicated as children by a trustworthy child flag.

Keep reading:

▪ Ash Johnson, “How to Address Children’s Online Safety in the United States” (ITIF, June 2024), https://itif.org/publications/2024/06/03/how-to-address-childrens-online-safety-in-united-states/.