Yubo Global Standards Reference Document for Online Protection of Minors Continues to Gain Support Following International Debut in the United States
- The award-winning Yubo-AFNOR Spec reference document was unveiled in January to nonprofits, government organizations in the U.S.
- Yubo has since expanded outreach efforts to present AFNOR Spec to stakeholder groups across other regions around the globe
PARIS, Dec. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Yubo, a leading social discovery app for young adults around the world, is proud to announce continued international public affairs efforts to amplify the groundbreaking online safety policy initiative, AFNOR Spec.
AFNOR Spec is an award-winning reference document spearheaded by Yubo in partnership with the Paris-based standards organization Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) to establish uniform guidelines around online safeguards for minors. Following its U.S. unveiling earlier this year, Yubo leaders have expanded outreach efforts across key stakeholder groups in government, industry, and nonprofit and advocacy groups to drive global alignment on principles of safety for minors online.
The Yubo-AFNOR Spec outlines actionable recommendations across three key areas:
- Account verification and age assurance
- Content moderation and risk detection
- Awareness and transparency
These sections provide a practical framework for enhancing online safeguards, making the document a valuable resource for nonprofits, government organizations, and private sector leaders committed to addressing online risks for young people. The document serves as a toolbox, with practical and operational recommendations for both public and private sector organizations.
Yubo was awarded a "Trusted and Responsible Digitization" prize for having initiated and contributed to the development of this policy document.
"To limit the safety risks that kids and teens encounter online today, and equip platforms with the tools that can ensure young people are able to remain safely engaged with the world around them, a collective and collaborative response that is globalized is essential," said Yubo Head of Legal & Public Policy Sharone Franco, who spearheaded this initiative alongside AFNOR.
The development of the AFNOR Spec reference document was supported by a diverse coalition of partner organizations, including:
- Meta
- Yoti
- Arcom (France's Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority)
- CNIL (French Data Protection Authority)
The initiative follows pivotal policy implementations across Europe, including the European Digital Service Act and the United Kingdom's Online Safety Act, as well as emerging regulations on child online safety under review in the U.S. at the state level and the U.S. Supreme Court.
In France, 87% of kids aged 11 and 12 report regularly using at least one social network, with the average age of first-time social media users in the country being 8 years old, according to CNIL. Daily use of social media and online platforms is similarly widespread in the United States. A majority of U.S. teenagers report spending at least four hours per day on social media apps, according to a 2023 Gallup survey.1 In Sweden, 95% of all teens aged 13 to 16 have at least one social media account2 and roughly 84% of the country's internet users use social media daily.3
Since launching in 2015, Yubo has leveraged collaborative relationships with leading organizations, like AFNOR and other industry leaders, to hone its approach to online safety innovation. The platform's leadership of the AFNOR initiative deepens its policy framework to harm reduction for its global user base, while also fostering new relationships to facilitate policy collaboration among international markets.
Both the French- and English-language version of the Yubo-AFNOR Spec reference document are available by request.
ABOUT YUBO
Yubo is a live social discovery app that makes it easy for Gen Z to make new friends and hang out online. By eliminating likes and follows, we empower young people to show up as their true selves and form genuine connections. As a platform serving young adults, safety is a cornerstone of Yubo. All of our features and policies are developed with guidance from our board of safety experts, which is made up of respected leaders and online safety experts from such organizations as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Thorn, and The Diana Award. Founded in France in 2015, more than 80 million users across more than 140 countries have joined Yubo to date. Visit us at yubo.live to learn more and follow our journey.
ABOUT AFNOR
The Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) is a Paris-based standards organization and a member body for France at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) serving the general interest and sustainable development. The AFNOR group has 1,217 employees at 38 locations around the world and 63,000 customers. It has designed solutions based on voluntary standards, sources of progress, and trust since 1926. Visit afnor.org to learn more.
1 Gallup: 'Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day' 2023
2 Science Direct: 'Social Media and Mental Health Among Early Adolescents in Sweden: A Longitudinal Study With 2-Year Follow-Up (KUPOL Study)' 2021.
3 Oosga: 'Social Media in Sweden - 2023 Stats & Platform Trends' 2023
For inquiries:
Debora Lima, Yubo Media Director
debora@ext.yubo.live
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