Here comes Google junior, well, not exactly. But starting in early 2015, Google expects to create and release products geared at children under twelve.
This is the brainchild of Panvi Diwanji, Google’s VP of engineering, and mother of two. While it’s unclear what these products are, it’s widely believe these products will be those already popular with children, like Chrome and You Tube. Ms. Diwanji is committed to creating a fun, safe and educational environment for children. This effort comes in the wake of initiatives like? Doodle 4 Google and Maker Camp. While Ms. Diwanji’s intentions may be good, controversy is almost bound to follow. Tech companies always thrive to reach out to new demographics. But it’s been the unwritten rule that the under 12 crowd was to be left alone as far as advertising campaigns were concerned. Then there’s the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. They’re enforcing this act with a firm hand. In September 2014, they hit up Yelp for $450,000 simply for not implementing a proper age screen in it’s ratings app.
So yes, Panvi Diwanji and her colleagues need to be careful in how they launch these Google for children products. But I’m glad she’s doing it. Kids under 12 are more tech savvy than you think. Often times, they’re more tech savvy than many adults are. And look at the crisis of education, especially in the United States. I believe building child friendly products and services is what this generation needs to educate and inspire this generation to do better in school and life. Besides, the Internet runs just about everything we do these days. Isn’t it better to have safe systems in place that will equip them for tomorrow? And don’t even get me started on safety. We all know how much inappropriate things are on the Internet these days. I understand why some parents won’t let kids go on Facebook until they’re 18. Even looking up something innocent