Public discussion often frames digital restrictions as the main way to keep young people safe. Yet research shows young people prefer guidance and balance. Global rights and protection groups agree that increasing youth’s access to the digital world is preferable to excluding them.
Yesterday’s Growing Up with the Information Age Summit in Dublin, hosted by the Google Safety Engineering Center, focused on practical solutions to big challenges. The event brought together child and teen safety experts, creators, and decision makers working to create an online world that protects, respects, and empowers young people.
To guide ongoing work in this area, the summit highlighted six main themes.
Continuously Redefining Baseline Projections
Parents expect their children’s online experiences to include built-in protections. For instance, Safe Search is on by default in Google Search and on YouTube. Uploads are private by default, and features like Take a Break and Bedtime Reminders are available for users under 18.
We have added extra content safeguards for Gemini app users under 18 that remain active at all times. For example, the app avoids language that simulates intimacy, acts like a companion, or claims to be human. At DWN, we gathered our findings with civil society partners and will share more soon.
Empowering Parents with Customizable Controls
We want to give parents tools to make the best choices for their families. In Dublin, we demonstrated updates to Family Link that let parents manage device settings, view usage summaries, and set screen time limits in one place on YouTube. Parents with supervised accounts will soon be able to control teens’ time on Shorts. They’ll even be able to set the timer to zero, giving parents full control over short-form content.
Supporting a New Global Initiative for Teen Digital Wellbeing
Google.org and YouTube are launching a $20 million global initiative to support teen digital well-being. This funding will create a multilingual open-source resource center and curriculum based on a global IPSOS study of over 9,500 teens. The center will offer content on seeking help, managing digital stress, and using AI in healthy ways. Nonprofits and YouTube creators will help share these resources with young people.
Redefining High Quality Suitable For Age Content
Parents and experts often say there should be clear standards for appropriate online content, so kids and teens have positive experiences, to help reintroduce them to new principles, and a creator guide for YouTube developed with third-party experts. These principles also shape YouTube’s recommendations, helping teens find more high-quality videos along with our kids’ quality standards. This is why YouTube is known for great family channels like BBC Studios, whose shows Bluey and Doctor Who inspire kids and parents worldwide.
Developing for Smarter and Safer Age Assurance
A key challenge is verifying age online. The debate is often seen as a choice between weak checks and invasive ID scans. Our research supports a risk-based approach that matches the level of age assurance to the risk of the content or feature. For example, you wouldn’t expect a credit card company to verify age for buying a point. That’s the pub’s job. Google is helping set global standards and open-source technology for safer, easier, more privacy-friendly age checks.
Acknowledging Nuance Versus One-Size-Fits-All for Restrictions
At the summit, many agreed that blanket bans can drive youth to less-regulated online spaces a trend confirmed by reports. These bans also remove controls that protect kids and provide parents with options.
In summary, our key takeaways from the summit are: ensure baseline protections for online safety; empower parents with controls; support global teen well-being initiatives; set clear standards for age-appropriate content; implement smarter, safer age assurance; and favor nuanced approaches over blanket restrictions by collaborating with parents, experts, and youth. We aim to protect and involve the next generation online.
Source: 6 takeaways from our “Growing Up in the Digital Age” Summit
