The government is committed to protecting children from the risks of the digital world. This task requires active contributions from scientists, businesses, governments, parents, schools, and children themselves. To achieve this, the Cabinet has implemented various measures outlined in the policy letter dated 14 July 2023, which details ongoing actions and new plans. The key aspects of current measures include:
- Safeguarding children’s rights across all phases of online products and services
Companies designing and implementing online products and services for children bear significant responsibility to integrate child rights into their offerings. The current approach includes regulating these companies through European legislation. - Media education and literacy, and building resilience in young people
Media education is crucial in mitigating unwanted effects of digital services or products. Health professionals can advise parents on responsible screen usage and its impact on child development. It is also essential to equip children with the skills and knowledge to navigate the digital world safely. The Dutch Media Literacy Network, supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (OCW), assists in these efforts. - Mental health approach
It’s vital for young people to become and remain media-savvy, focusing on maintaining a healthy digital balance. Children and parents need to better understand the opportunities and risks of online environments. Appropriate mental health support should align closely with the needs of young people’s online experiences. - Media Act and Dutch Advertising Code
The Media Act protects children from harmful audiovisual content on platforms such as video sites and social media by prohibiting harmful content for specific age groups. Additionally, Article 17 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child mandates protection against harmful content. - (Inter)National cooperation
Effective norm-setting and framework establishment to safeguard online children’s rights require collaboration with both European and international governments to ensure cross-border consistency.
New measures
Beyond existing efforts, additional measures focus on further regulation of providers, supporting parents/educators, enhancing supervision, and linking existing reporting centres to a new national centre of expertise.
- Further provider regulations
Proper age verification is of great importance. It can significantly reduce children’s contact with content that is harmful to them. Additionally, it can prevent the profiling of children and their data from being collected. For this reason, efforts are being made to establish a robust age verification system. At the same time, the Cabinet is working on strengthening regulations.
– Online privacy and economic exploitation
As stated, adequate age verification can significantly counteract the processing of minors’ personal data. However, issues arise not only from incorrect age verification but also from parents. A good example of this is vlogging families who extensively share their lives online. These emerging forms of child labour often evade existing regulations and oversight.
– Approach to online advertising
Discussions between the State Secretary for Culture and Media and the Media Authority are focusing on the influence of influencers and enhancing supervisory measures. This includes facilitating the supervision and enforcement of compliance. - Supporting parents/carers and schools
A multi-year public communication campaign is planned. It aims to provide parents and children insights into how to achieve and maintain digital health and become aware of the effects of prolonged online activity. This includes addressing disinformation and awareness of data processing by apps. Research shows that non-educational use of mobile phones adversely affects students’ concentration and engagement. As a result, from 1 January 2024, mobile phones are not allowed in classrooms unless used for educational purposes during lessons. This rule applies to secondary education and is also being adopted by primary schools. - Strengthening oversight
Current regulations sometimes fall short in monitoring children’s rights concerning digitalisation. The Media Authority presently oversees only those who have over 500,000 followers. Many influencers are not compliant with current regulations. A specific division within the Dutch Data Protection Authority may be established to improve the protection of minors’ personal data and online privacy. - Linking reporting centres to a national expertise centre
Various institutions study issues affecting minors in the digital world, such as the Trimbos Institute and several universities. However, there is inadequate sharing and utilisation of existing expertise and knowledge. As a consequence, a national expertise centre for digitalisation and health will be established to collaboratively work towards a digitally balanced society.
