#561
Keeping A Low Profile
Published:
Oct 12, 2024
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
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As new regulation has sprung up throughout the US surrounding the protection of children online, social media platforms may be able to take a page from the financial services industry’s playbook. For the first time a broader array of digital platforms are being asked to do what legislation has always mandated for financial institutions: protecting people from themselves.
Understandably, age thresholds are necessary to access everything from credit cards, to mortgages, to investment accounts. The silver lining? These restrictions also create the opportunity for a new subset of products and services to meet the unique needs of this generation. For example, Monzo just launched their under 16’s account this summer, whose waitlist already numbers in the hundreds of thousands. However, a U16 Instagram might be a tougher sell.
In addition to the questions surrounding subjective parental controls as a better alternative to government-imposed restrictions for non-financial topics, constitutionality is also becoming a more relevant consideration. The key concerns: are the harms to children significant enough to justify these laws, and do these new laws place undue burdens on free speech and the right to access information? Or perhaps most importantly – will these laws even be successful, or will children just become more adept at posing as adults to gain access?
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Keeping A Low Profile
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