Cabinet presents new measures to protect online childrens rights

“The digital world is changing every day, but the impact of technology on children is not always immediately noticeable. Therefore, we must ensure that childrens rights are well protected in the online world,” said Secretary of State Van Huffelen. “The new measures we are taking are aimed at further regulating providers, supporting a childs environment, strengthening government oversight, and establishing reporting points and a national expertise center. In doing so, I particularly want to work with young people to identify where solutions and improvements lie.”

Adequate Age Verification Systems

Enforcement of existing age limits proves difficult in practice, as children can often state an age older than they actually are. Good age verification systems are therefore of great importance. Adequate age verification systems will prevent children from encountering harmful content, having their personal data collected, and being profiled by companies. The cabinet is therefore working on the establishment of good age verification systems.

Addressing Persuasion Techniques and dark patterns

In addition to the rules in the GDPR, DSA, and AVMDS, the cabinet intends to regulate providers extensively in the coming time, among other things through consumer legislation. This primarily concerns the tackling of online persuasion techniques and so-called dark patterns. These techniques can encourage users to stay online for extended periods and/or do other things that are not (always) in their best interest (such as making purchases). Children are particularly sensitive to this. A well-known example is the so-called loot box, a casino-like system where you pay real money to open a digital box (or pack of cards) and one of the reasons for the cabinet to take action on this.

Online Privacy and Economic Exploitation

The Minister of Social Affairs and Employment will develop a clear and guiding (norms) framework for online child labor. This primarily concerns the protection of young influencers. This framework will be enshrined in new laws and regulations.

Addressing Online Advertising

The Secretary of State for Culture and Media is in discussion with the Media Authority about strengthening oversight in this area. The European Consumer Organisation (ECO) is also attentive to the position of influencers. They recommend that transparency and disclosure requirements at the EU level be further defined, standardized, and harmonized. Additionally, oversight and enforcement of compliance should be facilitated. Furthermore, they recommend classifying the promotion of illegal products and services by influencers as an unfair trade practice. These products and services will then be placed on the blacklist of the directive on unfair trade practices. Within Europe, the cabinet is committed to having these recommendations adopted by the ECO.

Public Communication

It is important that both children and parents have knowledge of the digital world, so they are better equipped to withstand potential risks. A multi-year public communication campaign is currently being developed. This campaign is set to launch in the fall and will focus this year on the effects of prolonged online presence. In doing so, the cabinet aims to provide parents and children with insight into how to achieve good digital health, developing accessible communication methods and providing parents with the tools to determine what constitutes healthy use of digital products and services.

Other topics that will be addressed include misinformation and awareness regarding data processing by apps. This will address the risks and what parents, caregivers, and children can do to mitigate these risks.

Banning Smartphones from the Classroom

An agreement has been made with boards, schools, teachers, parents, and students that mobile phones are not allowed in the classroom unless they are used educationally in the lesson. This agreement applies to secondary education and will be implemented from January 1, 2024.

The cabinet will explore whether it is possible to establish a childrens authority for personal data or a specific department within the Personal Data Authority (AP). This authority or department would then deal with the processing of personal data of minors and strengthening the online privacy of minors.

The cabinet intends to establish an expertise center for digitization and health, where knowledge and expertise will be bundled. A structural, sustainable development of a knowledge base on digitization and health contributes to formulating effective and impactful policy. In the expertise center, parties will work together towards a shared mission: the realization of a society that is digitally balanced.

The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations will establish a youth panel in collaboration with UNICEF Netherlands, in which young people and cabinet members will discuss the opportunities and risks of the digital world four times a year. The sessions will be thematically structured and may address harmful content or online advertising, but also how a child can be creative in the digital world or how the digital world can enhance a childs learning ability.

Protecting childrens rights is a cross-cutting issue involving many parties, and the roles and responsibilities of all relevant parties must be taken into account. The cabinet will work together to initiate concrete actions to strengthen legislation, policy, and oversight.