Apps that risk the privacy, safety and security of children and teens
5Rights is pressing for investigatory action against a widely-used American app popular among young children worldwide, citing significant safety concerns including inadequate protection of minors from bad actors, high likelihood of exposure to harmful content, and ineffective implementation of age assurance, among others. 5Rights is urging that formal complaints be brought before one or more national regulators under the EU Digital Services Act.
5Rights seeks a decision that would require the app to make several critical changes. The platform would need to overhaul its approach to age assurance to ensure it is robust and proportional to user risks and demonstrably effective. It must also implement more robust recourse and reporting tools to mitigate the impacts of harmful interactions and improve privacy controls. Additionally, the company must address the clear unmitigated risks to children in the design and promotion of the service.
Apps that risk the privacy, safety and security of children and teens
Organisation Name
5Rights Foundation
Country/Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Grant Amount
EUR 19,875
Current Status
Ongoing
Image credit: Photo by MOHI SYED on Pexels
Grant type
Litigation Track Support
Description
5Rights is pressing for investigatory action against a widely-used American app popular among young children worldwide, citing significant safety concerns including inadequate protection of minors from bad actors, high likelihood of exposure to harmful content, and ineffective implementation of age assurance, among others. 5Rights is urging that formal complaints be brought before one or more national regulators under the EU Digital Services Act.
5Rights seeks a decision that would require the app to make several critical changes. The platform would need to overhaul its approach to age assurance to ensure it is robust and proportional to user risks and demonstrably effective. It must also implement more robust recourse and reporting tools to mitigate the impacts of harmful interactions and improve privacy controls. Additionally, the company must address the clear unmitigated risks to children in the design and promotion of the service.
"significant safety concerns including inadequate protection of minors from bad actors, high likelihood of exposure to harmful content, and ineffective implementation of age assurance, among others."
Strategic Goals
- To ensure the App either makes significant changes to comply with the DSA and, more broadly, with internationally agreed children’s rights frameworks, or ceases offering the app to minors.
- To send a clear warning to other app developers that regulators will not tolerate such egregious disregard for children’s safety and wellbeing.
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