Study Finds Online Parental Controls Effective Though Underutilized
Despite the increased availability of parental controls on devices and digital platforms, just half of parents -- or fewer -- utilize them to protect their children online, according to a study from the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), the organization announced Wednesday.
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This level of adoption "should prompt serious reflection across the tech industry and policymaking circles and reinforce efforts to make parental controls more accessible and user-friendly,” Stephen Balkam, CEO and founder of FOSI, said.
The study, conducted in February and March, surveyed 1,000 U.S. children, ages 10-17, and the same number of parents of children in that age range. It found that the use of parental controls, while generally low, varied from device to device.
For example, around 51% of parents employ controls on tablets, for a smartphone the figure is 47%. Parents are the least likely to exercise parental controls for video games at 35%, the study found.
However, FOSI said more than four in five households using parental controls find them effective.
But the onus should not be entirely on parents to keep their children safe online, the organization said. “The low adoption rate could indicate that parents are overwhelmed and struggle to adopt such a wide array of tools, let alone use them effectively,” said the report.
“Efforts to streamline and simplify, especially collaborative efforts across apps, platforms, and industry, will go a long way towards increasing adoption … Companies have built effective parental controls, they just need to work together to increase the ease of use and interoperability of these important tools,” FOSI said.
“Standardizing and harmonizing parental controls would improve parents’ experiences with setting up and effectively using these safety tools.”
The report mentioned the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), noting “it strikes the right balance between requiring effective controls while respecting the privacy rights of minors and preventing the controls from turning into surveillance tools.”