Gen Z social media company Yubo kicks off online protection of minors coalition effort, in partnership with AFNOR

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Apr 11, 2023, 09:03 ET

PARIS, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yubo, the live social discovery platform for Gen Z, has partnered with Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) to launch a coalition effort across the public and private sector to identify uniform standards to mitigate online safety risks for minors. The coalition, made up of organizations from both the public and private sector, will draft and publish a reference document on moderation and prevention techniques to protect minors on social networks.

Yubo hosted an event at its corporate headquarters in Paris on March 21 to kick off the collaborative effort with AFNOR, a Paris-based standards organization and a member body for France at the International Organization for Standardization. The event gathered government leaders, NGOs, and leading tech companies and startups, with keynote speeches from representatives of Yubo, Meta, CNIL (French data protection authority) and ARCOM (French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication).

With the complex risks that exist online – such as those related to inappropriate content, violence, abuse, and harassment – it is crucial for online social platforms to prioritize user safety and implement specialized tools and protocols to combat these issues. Together, AFNOR and Yubo are spearheading the development of a reference document, which will aim to empower stakeholders in government, nonprofit, and the private sector to identify and better implement techniques, tools, and policies for risk mitigation, both at the policy and operations levels.

"The goal is to build a toolbox that is useful for all companies by creating working groups that each focus on three individual themes: user trust, content detection and moderation, and prevention and education," said Sharone Franco, Yubo Head of Legal and Public Policy.

The coalition, created to enable and encourage information sharing among social media platforms, aims to promote proactive development and innovation in online safety with the primary goal of protecting minors.

"We see a need to harmonize across these efforts to benefit the younger online population," said Samuel Comblez, E-Enfance Director of Operations. "We've worked closely with Yubo for a number of years as a result of their voluntary approach and their constant desire to protect their users by using the expertise of our association, and others similar to us. It's a partnership that we highly value because of Yubo's commitment to working quickly and efficiently."

Meta's Public Policy Manager in France, Clotilde Briend, also highlighted in her keynote speech the importance of industry collaboration and having "all the players around the table," including device builders, telecom operators, and platforms.

"Our view is that in order to have truly applicable and operational solutions for the online protection of young people in France, we must follow certain principles: harmony between the public and private sector, a combination of product design and technical solutions, and an understanding of how to work with parents," Briend said.

The reference document created as a result of the partnership will continue to be developed throughout the course of several working group meetings, and it is expected to be published before year-end.

ABOUT YUBO
Yubo is a live social discovery app making it easy for Gen Z to expand their social circles and hang out online with new friends from around the world. By eliminating likes and follows, we empower young people to show up as their true selves and connect as authentically as they would offline. Safety is a cornerstone of our platform, and we are proud to be the first social app in the world to introduce comprehensive user-age verification tools and real-time video and audio moderation for livestreams. Founded in France in 2015, Yubo today is used across more than 140 countries by over 60 million users. 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.

Media Contact:
Debora Lima, Yubo U.S. Media Director
[email protected]

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