NCOSE's Dirty Dozen List names Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Snapchat among 10 others
2. Android
Google’s Android OS is falling behind Apple when it comes to protecting minors from sextortion and predators, according to NCOSE. The advocacy group raised concerns about Android’s parental supervision features, which NCOSE fears are not enough to prevent exploitation.
“Google continues to lean on Google Family Link, a separate, opt-in parental-supervision system,” the group warned. “While Google has rolled out some limited default settings, like SafeSearch for supervised accounts and a few under-18 protections tied to Google services, nearly all meaningful controls still require parents to know about Family Link, set it up and keep it active.”
“Without that extra work, an Android device used by a minor looks and behaves like a regular adult device, with no automatic content filters, app-rating restrictions, or communication protections kicking in at setup,” NCOSE continued.
The anti-sexual exploitation group cited a 2024 study from Thorn that found the majority of sextortion victims are 14- to 17-year-old boys, a group that NCOSE contends is “left totally exposed to these harms by Android’s current default policies.”
NCOSE also pointed to research that found most children first encounter pornography in their early teen years, raising concerns about Android’s default web content filters potentially making it easier to access sexually explicit material.
“Let us be clear: Apple’s child protection features are a solid starting point, but they are certainly not perfect,” NCOSE declared. “Android has a golden opportunity to not only match that baseline but to surpass it. Android OS should step up to lead the industry in safeguarding young users and setting a new standard for digital safety that inspires trust worldwide.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
