Listen to the article
Snap has launched a new in-app tool, labeled “Family Center.”
The UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was present for the launch of this new parental control feature within Snapchat, which is a fruitful cooperation between the Ministry of Possibilities in the UAE and Snap Inc. It is aiming to support the UAE’s efforts in its endeavors to enhance the digital wellbeing, ensure that the Internet is safe and secure, and provide a safe environment especially for children, by utilizing the modern technologies.
The new feature was announced in a ceremony attended also by prominent governmental figures and representatives from Snapchat.
Sheikh Saif and the attendees witnessed the signing up of the first Emirati family who will make use of the new feature, which allows parents and guardians to have control over their children’s activities on the Internet, so they can view the list of their children’s friends on the app, and the people they communicate with, but without viewing the content of the conversations, in order to protect privacy.
This feature enables the parents to maintain their children’s privacy and independence.
This feature also allows parents to easily and confidentially report any abusive or suspicious accounts directly by communicating with Snap’s Trust and Safety Team, a dedicated unit that works around the clock to protect Snapchat users. Snap has also launched new tools to encourage open and constructive conversations online.
Snap has already reached out to families to identify the needs of parents and their children to sound out their views on parenting standards and privacy, which vary from person to person. The company also consulted with online safety and security experts to take their opinions into account in order to help develop the new Family Center feature. By developing the new feature, Snap aimed to roll out a set of tools specifically designed to reflect human behavior on the ground and enhance trust and cooperation between parents and their children.
Commenting on the launch of the new feature, the Ministry of Possibilities confirmed that cooperation with Snap in launching the “Family Center” feature is a step that reflects the commitment of the UAE government to provide its citizens and residents with all the appropriate tools that guarantee their safety, protect their privacy on the Internet, and enhance their confidence. In the use of the digital platforms, this feature would consolidate the ministry's dedication to enhancing the level of protection while using technical networks and social media platforms.
The Ministry stated that this cooperation with a well-known and world-famous platform such as Snapchat will help enhance efforts to educate all citizens and residents in the country and enable them to protect their children and loved ones.
Georg Wolfart, Head of Public Policy at Snap Inc, stated “Snapchat's continued growth is because our community values the privacy and safety tools we built into the platform. With the launch of Family Center, we are strengthening this commitment, adding new levels of safety and new communication avenues for families to discuss online threats. We are confident that Family Center will become the new benchmark for online safety."
Snap plans additional safety features for Family Center in the coming months, including new content controls for parents and the ability for their children to notify parents when they report an account or a piece of content to Snap's Trust and Safety team. A new feature allowing parents to view new friends their children have added will also launch soon.
