White House promotes federal government measures to protect children online

The White House on Monday unveiled a series of federal measures aimed at protecting children’s privacy and safety online, amid a recent surge in cases of sexual abuse based on images fueled by artificial intelligence.

According to a press release from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, several agencies are studying how to respond to the threats children face online. This includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which plans to examine new methods for estimating and verifying age online and has developed a new rating system for age estimation algorithms. In addition, the Department of Education has issued guidelines on AI and educational technologies to enable non-discriminatory use of the new technologies.

“What is happening in the online environment today is what is happening every time we encounter and develop powerful technologies,” OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar said during an event at the White House on Monday. “They always have a good side and a dark side.”

The positives, Prabhakar said, are the benefits that come from promoting positive online environments for children from marginalized communities, such as the LGBTQIA+ community. The risks, Prabhakar said, include concerns about children’s online privacy and safety, such as cyberbullying and companies collecting information about children and sending targeted messages.

Some of these issues were addressed in the final report of the Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, also released Monday. The group, which includes representatives from federal agencies and the Office of the President, calls in its report for bipartisan legislation and international cooperation on online safety, as well as for more information to be made available to the public.

Other recent federal efforts to protect children online include an announcement by the Federal Trade Commission this month that it would ban companies from offering anonymous messaging apps to people under 18 and “stop making misleading claims about AI content moderation,” according to a press release from the agency. The FTC is also working to update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rules to address potential threats to children’s privacy from new and emerging technologies, the White House press release said.

Other agencies concerned with children’s online safety that were mentioned Monday include the National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.