Snapchat has added safety controls to its app, allowing parents to see whom their kids communicate with on the ephemeral posting platform.
Snap, Snapchat’s parent company, announced the release of the Family Center on Tuesday, which will allow parents to see whom their kids and teenagers are speaking with on the platform. This increased emphasis on teenage safety arises as social media companies like Snap face scrutiny from lawmakers in the United States and European Union over child privacy.
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“Family Center is designed to reflect the way that parents engage with their teens in the real world, where parents usually know who their teens are friends with and when they are hanging out — but don’t eavesdrop on their private conversations,” Snap wrote in its blog post.
Snap will still hide the posts’ contents from parental views.
If parents suspect that one of their children is communicating with a suspicious individual, they can confidentially report them to Snap’s Trust and Safety Teams, who will act accordingly. Snap is also adding resources to the platform to help teenagers and parents manage the platform.
Snap also intends to add features to the center in the future, including content controls for parents and the ability for teenagers to notify their parents if they report an account or post to Snap.
Snap’s decision to implement the Family Center arrives weeks after members of Congress pushed for additional legislation to manage children’s right to privacy. Congress is considering at least four pieces of legislation designed to amend the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act of 1998 so it is up to date with modern technology standards and public privacy concerns.
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Snap is also feeling pressure from Europe, where the Digital Services Act has implemented bans on targeted advertising aimed at children and added privacy practices for teenagers.
