Brussels: Today, the European Commission launched a public consultation on draft guidelines aimed at enhancing the protection of minors online under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The initiative seeks to establish a safer online environment for children by supporting platforms accessible to minors, ensuring a high level of privacy, safety, and security.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the guidelines include a variety of measures such as age verification, improved content recommendation systems to minimize exposure to harmful content, and default privacy settings for children’s accounts. Additionally, the guidelines outline best practices for child-safe content moderation, child-friendly reporting channels, and guidance on platforms’ internal governance.
Stakeholders, including Better Internet for Kids (BIK+) Youth ambassadors, have played a significant role in the development of these guidelines. The measures will be applicable to online platforms of all sizes, except for micro and small enterprises, that are accessible to minors, including platforms with over 45 million monthly users in the EU.
The draft guidelines are open for public feedback until June 10, 2025, with contributions sought from a wide range of stakeholders, including children, parents, guardians, national authorities, and online platform providers. The Commission aims to adopt the guidelines before summer 2025, marking a significant step in the EU’s efforts to create a safer digital environment for children.