A 21-year-old tradition is giving tech companies a chance to roll out new layers of protection for users under the age of 18. For Safer Internet Day, new teen-focused safeguards arrived on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
Safer Internet Day began in 2004 as part of the European Union’s SafeBorders project. Two decades later, the annual February 11 observance has taken on a new meaning: Major tech platforms use it as a megaphone to advertise their efforts to protect the mental health of children and teens.
Last February, YouTube used Safer Internet Day to announce a supervised browsing experience that lets parents keep tabs on their children’s internet activity. A year later, YouTube has announced a partnership with The Jed Foundation to commission videos for teens about mental health. The creators behind those videos include some familiar names from the YouTube community, including Tim Chantarangsu, Cassandra Bankson, Ashley Yi, and Dylan Lemay.
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TikTok was active on Safer Internet Day as well, rolling out a Digital Safety and Privacy Guide that’s available in the app. And Meta followed YouTube’s lead by bringing supervised teen accounts to Instagram.
Despite platforms’ efforts to address teen mental health struggles, the likes of YouTube, TikTok, and Meta are still facing intense scrutiny from a wide array of watchdogs, ranging from the European Union to Poynter to the courts. A decision regarding the “blackout challenge” — and the linked death of a 10-year-old girl — put more pressure on platforms to address teen crises before it’s too late.
Tech companies like TikTok, Meta, and Snap have played nice with regulators by serving as founding members of Thrive, a program launched by the nonprofit Mental Health Coalition. But the most important work will be done on platforms, and that’s why the new features announced during Safer Internet Day are significant updates.
