Current regulatory measures are failing to adequately protect children from online harms, according to Alex Cooney, CEO of the child online safety charity CyberSafeKids. Cooney stated in an interview that regulators and government actions are not producing better outcomes for children online and that there is an urgent need for more robust accountability, including criminal liability for senior executives in tech companies.
CyberSafeKids' annual report, "The Year Little Changed," highlights persistent issues. The report indicates that 70% of children aged eight to 12 still have accounts on social media apps designated for users 13 and older, despite an Online Safety Code introduced by the regulator Coimisiún na Meán (CnM). A survey of 6,000 primary school children revealed the code's ineffectiveness.
The report specifically warns about the present and emerging dangers associated with AI and gaming platforms, which Cooney believes many parents underestimate or misunderstand. Gaming platform Roblox, for instance, is identified as a primary online interaction space for Irish children as young as five. According to the research, 58% of children aged eight to 12 who reported negative online experiences did so while playing Roblox.
Examples of negative experiences cited by children in the survey include witnessing or experiencing inappropriate, threatening, and sexualized behavior from other players within Roblox's role-playing games. Some children reported instances of being chased, stalked, imprisoned, threatened, propositioned, and encouraged to strip.
Roblox has stated that since January, all users must complete age-checks before accessing chats, and that a real-time moderation system was introduced in March. However, CyberSafeKids' report points to a regulatory gap for gaming platforms.
Previously, most gaming platforms were not classified as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) under EU cyber safety rules, unlike major social media apps like Snapchat or TikTok, which have over 45 million active users in Europe and are subject to stricter regulations. Roblox has recently been designated a VLOP, placing it under a more stringent regulatory regime. Cooney emphasized that gaming and social media environments are interchangeable for children and should face similar scrutiny.
The charity's report also found that for children as young as 13 on social media, receiving nude images is often not considered a cause for concern, with some children saving such images or using them as "stickers" in communications. Other common issues reported by children include death threats, bullying, exposure to dangerous ideas about body image, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, graphic violence, sexual content, manosphere content, child abuse memes, and predatory behavior.
These issues echo ongoing civil actions against tech and gaming platforms globally, including a recent $18 billion settlement by Meta in the United States. Cooney suggested that this settlement amount, in the context of potential liabilities, does not represent a significant acknowledgment of wrongdoing by the company. She argued that the standard for safety should be imposed by regulators, not set by the companies themselves.
The report questions why products intended for children, such as food, medicine, and toys, undergo rigorous compliance testing before reaching consumers, while the tech industry faces less scrutiny. Findings also indicate that children in disadvantaged areas are disproportionately affected, with those eligible for DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programs being almost twice as likely to operate online without time restrictions and to have personal devices in their bedrooms overnight.