Partial agreement --- Vladimir, I completely agree with you that children using technologies that were designed for adults is a cause for concern, but the conclusion I reach for what must be done is a bit different. For starters, I think we should start by talking about families and schools. I used to teach in public schools about online safety — to children, teens and their parents, sometimes all together. I think this has to be the base here, education for online safety should be present in schools (either as a subject on its own, as occasional lectures, as D.A.R.E.-like programs or integrated in multiple subjects). Now, with that established... Let's keep in mind that there are social media platforms and video games that go out of their way to make their usage addictive. I think we should, then, talk about what regulation should be like going forward in this regard. Only after these discussions do I think we should look into the more technological solutions, because those have a habit of backfiring in a number of ways or creating loopholes which will be abused. Tech isn't a substitute for policy, family and school.

Source author: Gustavo Paiva gdp.direito@gmail.com