Eurochild joins the Special Group on Code of Conduct for age-appropriate design, an important step towards making the internet safer for children
On the 13th July, the group convened its first meeting.
Eurochild has joined the Special Group on an EU Code of Conduct for age-appropriate design, a key action under the BIK+ strategy. Chaired by DG Connect, the group includes representatives from industry (trade associations), academia and civil society. Its main task will be to draft a comprehensive code of conduct on age-appropriate design for industry to sign up to voluntarily. This is a self-regulatory initiative that will gather good practice and recommendations to support the industry in making their platforms safer by design for children. The code will play a key role in the implementation of the Digital Services Act, contributing to implementing Article 28, which binds online platforms to implement measures to “ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security of minors, on their service”. It will also actively contribute to the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and be in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
This code will be a key step towards fostering responsible innovation that takes into accounts children’s rights and needs in the digital environment. Eurochild encourages the group to remain ambitious and draft a code that goes beyond the minimum requirements in the Regulation. It should provide innovative and purposeful solutions that effectively answer to the needs of children. The code shall have impact in improving children’s digital wellbeing, by promoting their positive rights (i.e., right to play) and empowering them as digital citizenships. For this, child participation will need to be put at the core of the group activities, and the provisions of the Code itself. For digital design to be truly age-appropriate, it is key that children’s views are heard and incorporated.
