Snap and Google push to protect younger users as the UK closes in on big tech
Snap has said it is making a number of app changes to “protect 13 to 17 year olds”, including restricting its friend recommendation feature known as ‘Quick Add’, as well as new parental controls.
The aim is to make it harder for children to buy drugs on the social media app, and provide further safety features for its users.
It comes after an NBC News investigation revealed that Snapchat was used to sell prescription pills like Xanax, whilst in the UK, a survey shared exclusively to The Independent found that one in five 13 to 14-year-olds have seen drugs sold on social media, including class A substances like cocaine and MDMA.
Snapchat said that it also actively banned accounts with search terms associated with drug dealing.
Meanwhile, Google have also announced this week that it would immediately improve enforcement of an age-sensitive ad policy after Reuters found ads for sex toys, alcohol and high-risk investments in its search engine that should have been blocked under its efforts to comply with UK regulations.
The Age Appropriate Design Code (Children’s Code) came into force in September last year, which aimed at protecting children from being tracked online.
In response, Google has begun modifying settings across its services in Europe and elsewhere for children.
However, Reuters found that ads for leveraged trading, cholesterol medication, adult toy retailers and a major grocer promoting a vodka product were still being shown in the UK to signed out users last week.
The company declined to share granular information with Reuters about how often it had failed to block age-sensitive ads.