The Kids Aren't Alright Online: How To Build a Safer, Better Internet

Authored by Public Knowledge's Sara Collins and Morgan Wilsmann, this paper argues that policy aimed at protecting children online should be designed to make the internet safer and more privacy-protective for all users, not only minors. It contends that many current or proposed child-safety measures rely on blunt restrictions or invasive age verification, and instead urges regulators to target underlying platform design features, such as engagement-maximizing algorithms and data collection practices, that create risk for both children and adults.

Rather than presenting original empirical fieldwork, the paper is a policy analysis growing out of a Public Knowledge convening, building on the organization's related work on risk-based approaches to age verification. It concludes that privacy-protective, design-focused regulation would more effectively reduce harm than measures narrowly scoped to age-gating or content restriction, and calls on policymakers to broaden the frame of kids' online-safety legislation accordingly.