OCO statement on new online safety measures

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) has welcomed the new online age verification and parental control rules for video sharing platform providers being rolled out for children this week as a ‘first step’ toward keeping children safe online.

However the OCO is urging Commisiún na Meán to monitor and examine the rollout of the new measures to ensure that children’s rights online are respected.

While the online safety guidance materials state that a range of techniques can be considered as age assurance, such as providing identity documents, credit cards, cross-platform authentication and age estimation, an Commisiún has not specified which methods the various platforms should use. The OCO understands the technically challenges associated with age verification but would add that specific requirements would give us greater confidence that children’s safety and rights online are being sufficiently protected.

The OCO will examine the outcome of reports by video sharing platforms and Commisiún na Meán to examine how age assurance and parental control measures are being adopted and whether/how they are informed by children’s rights.

The OCO also welcomes the new EU Commission guidance on digital safety for children (published the 14^th of July) and in particular its guidance on recommender systems. The OCO look forward to engaging with Commisún na Meán on how these guidelines can be operationalised to address the issue of recommender systems or algorithms on social media sites that target children with potentially harmful or dangerous content.

 

• 23 July 2025
• Type: Statement
• Topic: Online