Dr. Tijana Milosevic:

There is an important point to be made on the issue of privacy versus safety. From our research, many parents, but also children, are not quite aware of why the digital age of consent, 16, is related to privacy. There seems to be an idea that it is about safety and driven by safety legislation. It is distinct issue. Media literacy education is required so parents and children will understand what this is all about and what the digital age consent means. We know from legislating in the United States and research from ten years ago that parents were helping underage children to get on social media platforms if they believed they were supposed to be on them, even if they were under the allowed age. Many of them did not know why the provision existed in the first place. Many of them believed it was about safety, not about privacy. It is extremely important to understand that it is actually about privacy. It had not been intended as a safety measure although it has been used in that manner. This leads to the issue of balancing the right to protection, on the one hand, and the right to provision and participation, on the other. It is important to have education in that regard.