Designing Digital Safety for Children: The OECD Approach
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Key highlights: • The need and importance of digital safety design (p. 7-9) • Policy trends of international organizations and governments of each country (p. 15-19, 19-26) • Key Elements of Digital Safety Design (p. 30-43) • Practical application analysis through case studies (p. 44-50) • Future challenges and the importance of international cooperation (p. 51)
As digital technologies increasingly impact children’s lives, the importance of creating a safe digital environment for children is growing. The OECD recently released a comprehensive analysis and recommendations on digital safety by design for children.
The need for digital safety design (p. 7-9) arises from the various risks that children may face online. Children are more vulnerable than adults, including exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, privacy violations, and commercial exploitation. In particular, with the development of artificial intelligence technology, new types of risks are emerging, and it is time to respond proactively. Digital safety design is an approach that prevents these risks in advance, protects children’s rights, and allows them to enjoy the benefits of the digital environment.
International organizations, including the OECD, emphasize the importance of digital safety by design (p. 15-19). Major organizations, such as the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), have established guidelines for protecting children's digital rights. Governments of each country are also enacting related laws (p. 19-26), including Australia's Online Safety Act, the EU's Digital Services Act, and the UK's Online Safety Act. These laws impose specific obligations on digital service providers to protect children.
The OECD report identifies the following as key elements of digital safety design (pp. 30-43):
1.
Age verification mechanism : Essential to provide age-appropriate services to children.
2.
Child-centered design : Design that takes into account the child's developmental stage and needs.
3.
Risk prevention and detection : Use technological tools to block potential risks in advance.
4.
Privacy : It is important to respect children’s right to privacy.
5.
Provide child-friendly information : Terms of use, etc. must be presented in a way that is easy for children to understand.
6.
Complaints and Redress Procedures : It should be easy to report and resolve problems when they arise.
7.
Children’s participation : Children’s views should be reflected in policy-making processes.
8.
Creating a culture of safety : We need a culture that puts child safety first, starting from within our companies.
These elements are closely related and, when applied comprehensively, provide effective child protection. For example, age verification mechanisms should be linked to child-centered design and privacy policies, and child-friendly information provision should be considered together with complaints and redress procedures.
The report analyzed how these elements were applied in practice through case studies (pp. 44-50). It compared LEGO Life, a children’s app; Roblox, which was aimed at both children and adults; and Omegle, a service for adults (now closed). LEGO Life had strong age verification and monitoring systems; Roblox had some safety features but room for improvement; and Omegle had no child protections at all, which posed serious risks.
The OECD emphasizes that digital service providers should take appropriate safety measures according to the nature and risk profile of the service. It states that services aimed at children require more stringent safety standards, and that even adult services must take measures to block access by children.
Future tasks (p. 51) include monitoring new risk factors due to continuous technological advancements, developing effective age verification technologies, and maintaining a balance between privacy protection and enhanced safety. In particular, the importance of international cooperation was emphasized, as individual responses by each country alone are limited due to the global nature of the digital environment. The OECD suggested that the international community should work together to develop common standards and best practices, and through these, ensure that all children have safe and healthy digital experiences.
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