The conversation surrounding the digital safety of children has intensified over the past few years. For instance, Australia is considering a ban on social media access for individuals under 16. However, implementing such regulations presents numerous challenges.
Research conducted by the nation’s online safety authority indicates that many children can easily circumvent age restrictions. What about enforcing identity verification through nationally-validated documents? Experts warn that this approach could significantly risk privacy, especially given the track records of many social media platforms.
In an effort to navigate these complexities, Apple is expected to introduce new measures later this year. They have released a white paper outlining enhancements to their parental control features, which aim to help guardians shield their children from inappropriate apps and content.
The new system will allow parents to share a general age range of their children with different apps, ensuring that those apps provide only age-appropriate content. This means parents won’t need to disclose the exact age of their children through identification methods like ID cards or birth certificates.
According to Apple, this new feature will allow parents to share their Child Accounts’ age range with app developers. The information will be transmitted via an API, and once this system is operational, apps will automatically curate content suitable for the indicated age.
Apple describes the Declared Age Range API as a “carefully designed, data-minimizing, privacy-preserving tool.” Notably, app developers will only gain access to this information when parents decide to share it explicitly. Furthermore, parents have the option to stop sharing the age range information at any time.
Additionally, Apple is simplifying the setup process for Child Accounts. If parents struggle to configure the controls for age-appropriate content, Apple will apply the default protective settings automatically, ensuring that children do not encounter unsafe material on their devices.
Moreover, Apple will facilitate an easier process for parents to adjust their children’s age within the parental control dashboard. If they initially set up the account incorrectly, they will be prompted to connect with their Family group to correct it.
Once the corrections are made, the account will revert to the appropriate content settings. Apple will also encourage developers to provide more detailed information about their apps, such as situations where they may include sensitive material and what type of content can be accessed through them.
Once these details are collected, Apple will classify apps with more specificity regarding their age ratings. Rather than just two tiers, the App Store will categorize apps into three distinct groups: 13+, 16+, and 18+, based on the intended audience.
