In a curiously apparent move of responsibility Meta have recently announced that they will be developing tools to allow parents to prevent underage children from accessing inappropriate content on their headsets. Some would argue that this is a stunt to show a reaction, as the BBC put it, to the upcoming UK legislation around child protection online, and more so one of their reporters allegedly “able to access virtual strip clubs in a popular VR app”. Whatever the reason, this move should be welcomed. The new tools will allow parents to lock specific apps and prevent children accessing them, stop the downloading/purchasing of age-inappropriate apps and launch a “Parent Dashboard”, which will “allow parents to link to their child’s account”. All of these similar management functions – and more – have existed for years on our smartphone for kids, but it’s good to see tech giants taking this seriously at last.
#safeguarding #digitalparentalinteraction