Digital Ministers from the G7 nations have agreed on a common mechanism aimed at shielding children and young people from harm online and allowing the development and use of AI technology in a safe and responsible way.
The UK government said in a press release last week the “strongest-ever G7 collective commitments” will require partner nations to commit to a shared approach to protecting children online.
The announcement comes at the same time the UK government is stepping up efforts at home to protect children and young people from being exposed to inappropriate content and abuse on the internet. The government said the initiative with G7 nations “complements UK ambition to be the safest place in the world to be online.”
The agreement was reached after talks at the G7 Digital Ministers in Paris on May 29, with partners agreeing to “a set of new shared principles to help tackle the growing risks children face in a digital world, from harmful content to exploitation.”
Key components of the joint initiative include efforts to enhance digital literacy among children and young people, dealing with new risks to children’s safety posed by AI chatbots, as well as holding digital services providers to account and urging them to take a more robust approach to online safety.
One of the key elements in the agreement is the call to pre-install comprehensive online safety features into all digital services right from the start, so that children’s safety is no longer considered an “afterthought,” or discussed after something goes wrong.
This will be achieved through close cooperation between digital services providers, parents, and children. There is also an agreement on improving data sharing between the above stakeholders.
Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the agreement was an important milestone in efforts to establish a “shared approach to protecting our children, backing our small businesses to adopt AI, and ensuring AI is developed safely and responsibly.”
Efforts at home
In the meantime, the UK government has said its landmark consultation on protecting children online has now closed, after receiving thousands of responses from children, parents, and experts. The consultation asked for views on measures including potential bans or curfews for under-16s, restrictions on harmful app features like infinite scrolling, and stronger parental controls.
The consultation was launched earlier this year after growing concerns worldwide about the impact of social media on children’s sleep, concentration, and mental wellbeing. The government has said results of the survey will be published in the near future.
The government also said at the time extra guidance will be published on healthy screen time for children aged 5 to 16. This will enable parents to help their children build a healthier relationship with technology from an early age, the government said.
On the legislative side, efforts are underway to introduce rules that will enshrine online safety into a wide range of digital services and platforms. In February this year, the government proposed a new law requiring tech firms to take down any abusive images from their platforms that are shared without the victim’s consent within 48 hours.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has separately promised to close any legal loopholes that allow chatbots to generate or share child sexual abuse content. The move will bring all chatbots under the remit of the UK’s flagship Online Safety Act.