The United Kingdom and the United States are creating a joint government working group on children’s online safety.

The working group, once formed, aims to encourage technology companies to be more transparent and better understand tech’s impact on young people.

The group was set up to advance common goals laid out in a new joint statement from the two countries on stronger digital protections for children.

The countries noted in the statement that smartphone ownership is “nearly universal” among teenagers in the US and UK.

Surveys about social media use in both countries have also shown that roughly six in 10 teenagers use TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.

While the joint statement acknowledged that technology has benefits, it added that social media companies have a responsibility to protect “children’s safety and privacy”.

In addition to “age-appropriate safeguards,” this includes measures to address sexual abuse, harassment, cyberbullying, and abusive content as well as those to prevent content promoting suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders.

“The online world brings incredible benefits for young people, enriching their education and social lives. But these experiences must take place in an environment which has safety baked in from the outset, not as an afterthought,” said UK science, innovation, and technology minister Peter Kyle, adding that “delivering this goal” was a priority.

New rules on children’s online safety

Digital platforms have come under increased scrutiny for their impact on children and young people’s wellbeing, with more regulation to come into effect.

The UK’s Online Safety Act, a set of laws passed in 2023, requires platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content, with regulators currently working on implementation. 

The UK regulator will be able to take action against companies that do not follow the new duties with fines of £18 million (€21.5  million) or 10 per cent of their global revenue, depending on which is larger.

In the European Union, the Digital Services Act (DSA) requires large platforms to assess the risks their platforms pose to children and young people and put in place measures “to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security of minors”.

Online platforms are expected to be given specific guidelines on protecting minors under the act next year.

Last year, the US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy issued an advisory stating that there were “ample indicators” that social media platforms “pose a risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents”.

There is also proposed legislation on children’s online safety making its way through the US Congress.

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“We remain committed to combating youth online exploitation and this historic agreement will help us expand resources to support children and young people thrive online at home and abroad,” US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement last week.

The countries’ joint statement added that they encourage “online platforms to go further and faster in their efforts to protect children by taking immediate action and continually using the resources available to them to develop innovative solutions, while ensuring there are appropriate safeguards for user privacy and freedom of expression”.