U.S., U.K. Governments Make Online Child Safety Deal

WASHINGTON—The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom have announced a joint statement of intent to support online child safety measures in both countries, according to a draft of the announcement published by both the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.K. Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology.  The joint statement was released on Oct. 10 by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.K. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle. "We 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," reads the statement. "Children’s online safety is an issue of global importance," adds the statement. "We also plan to work with our international partners to develop and promote common solutions, shared principles, and global standards that prioritize children’s wellbeing and champion a free, open, and secure Internet." Both governments emphasized the need for social media protections and regulations covering minors, like the U.K.'s Online Safety Act that levies a duty of care on tech firms like Google or Meta Platforms and the U.S. Surgeon General proposing public health warning labels for all social media. The United Kingdom has led stricter compliance with online platforms, compared to the United States. For example, the Online Safety Act encourages the country's Ofcom regulator to implement requirements for age verification or age assurance technology. While a boon for companies like Incode and Yoti, age verification and age assurance in the United States remains highly controversial. The joint statement was issued on the backdrop of a U.S. regulatory environment that's inconsistent at the state and federal levels. The Free Speech Coalition and top civil liberties organizations are challenging age verification laws before the Supreme Court as violations of the First Amendment. States have non-uniform age verification measures, with some structured as bounty laws or with criminal penalties. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has pushed disputed theories that social media use is potentially addictive like viewing pornography. Both claims are disputed. Unlike their counterparts in London, U.S. and state government officials have much steeper hills to climb when implementing online safety measures. But it isn't like this is a concept with the support of the highest levels of American governance. Though he's in the final months of his term, Democratic President Joe Biden has come out in support of controversial bills such as the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA; a legislative combination of the Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0), which would require a duty of care on social media platforms similar to the Online Safety Act in the United Kingdom. "There are parallels between the child online safety landscape in the United States and [the] United Kingdom. Smartphone ownership is nearly universal [among] teenagers in both countries," adds the joint statement. "We recognize the significant educational and social benefits technology can provide children and seek to ensure that they can flourish, online and offline. To ensure these benefits can be maximized, online platforms, including social media companies, have a moral responsibility to respect human rights and put in place additional protections for children’s safety and privacy."