Solutions

Solutions that WORK

We believe kids and teens deserve an internet that is as safe as it is exciting – one where true safety comes from privacy and trust, not intrusive or excessive data collection. They deserve an online world built on trust and privacy, not surveillance. Unfortunately, many of the current proposals focus on protecting platforms rather than young people, relying on app-store age checks that miss browsers, consoles, and computers; require sensitive data; and sideline parents:

Device-limited: App store-based age verification only applies to mobile apps, ignoring the risks kids encounter on web browsers, gaming consoles, and desktops.
Data-hungry: These systems require the collection of personal information, exposing families to data breaches and surveillance risks.
Parent-excluding: They replace parental choice with government or corporate mandates.

Companies, parents, and policymakers can take important steps today:

Safety first = Privacy always: Kids should be able to channel the power of a digitally-connected world without compromising their safety or their privacy. Unnecessary data collection and retention creates a less safe environment with more surveillance and more vulnerabilities.
Think beyond the app store: The problem is far bigger than focusing on one single point of access to download an app. Kids and teens access online content in a variety of ways and have easy workarounds for many of the simplistic solutions being proposed. We need to think holistically in order to address the problem.
Everyone has a role – and responsibility: There are powerful age-specific tools that can help build a safe digital environment, and all the critical players must embrace their responsibility for protecting kids from age-inappropriate content and other harmful products.

Parents agree:
93%	Almost all parents (93%) were concerned about their child/children’s privacy should that age verification information be shared across multiple apps or websites they use, with 6 in 10 (60%) very concerned.
62%	Six in ten (62%) parents preferred limiting data sharing only to apps that required it for child protection, compared with 33% who supported sharing data across all apps on an app store.

Take Action

We urge policymakers and platform and app developers to come together and craft solutions that are practical and effective, not just symbolic and performative. For these ideas to truly work, they must protect kids everywhere they go online, not just on their phones.

Parents and families need a digital world that prioritizes safety, privacy, and accountability – where companies take responsibility for harmful content and risky products and where young people can explore, learn, and connect without being exploited.

We call on leaders to act now to create consistent, effective protections across the entire internet – a solution that safeguards our kids’ wellbeing without sacrificing privacy or freedom.

Because every generation deserves to grow up safe, strong, and free online.

Parents agree: