'Don't turn children into data points', technologist warns as new safety laws raise privacy concerns

Kollam, Dec 12 (IANS) Child-safety technologist Stephen Antony Venansious has cautioned that emerging child-protection laws could expose minors to new risks by demanding intrusive age-verification and personal data collection.

"If we ask a child to surrender their face or identity just to play or learn online, we have already failed them," he said, saying that safety measures must not come at the cost of children's privacy.

Venansious has developed a system that detects grooming and abusive behaviour through on-device analysis rather than biometric checks or centralised data storage.

Offered as an Application Programming Interface for gaming, education and social media platforms, the tool identifies risky interactions without collecting photographs, identity documents or other sensitive information from children.

He says the global debate is too focused on verifying who children are instead of preventing harmful conduct online.

His remarks come amid a wave of child-safety legislation across countries.

In the US, proposed federal rules may require platforms to verify the age of almost all users.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has voiced opposition, warning that such measures could force companies to gather large volumes of sensitive documents from minors.

Australia is considering nationwide restrictions on social media access for under-16s, while US states like Texas and Utah have advanced similar laws, prompting concerns about surveillance and data misuse.

India faces comparable pressures.

A NITI Aayog–supported report recorded a 32 per cent rise in cybercrimes against children between 2021 and 2022, highlighting increasing exposure to cyberbullying, predators and privacy violations.

The report noted that children are spending more time online even as parental digital literacy varies widely.

The Unicef, in a December 9 statement, also warned that blanket bans and strict age-based filters could "backfire" by pushing children into unregulated online spaces.

It said effective child protection must rely on safer platform design, stronger content moderation and digital literacy without undermining children's rights to privacy and participation.

As governments press ahead with new rules, regulators are now being urged to balance the demand for greater online safety with the need to avoid turning child protection into a new form of surveillance.

Venansious says the priority should be clear, "The task is to protect childhood without turning children into data points and to prove that safety and privacy can stand together."

--IANS

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