ISTANBUL, Sept 11 — Microsoft yesterday unveiled its Safe Participation Framework, aimed at protecting children and teenagers online in the age of artificial intelligence.
“Children and families should not have to choose between the protections they need and the opportunities technology can provide,” the US technology company said in a statement, according to Anadolu Ajansi.
The framework is built on three pillars: safety by design, age-differentiated experiences, and education and empowerment.
Microsoft said its safety-by-design approach seeks to embed protections from the outset by identifying foreseeable risks, assessing the effects of product features and implementing safeguards proportionate to those risks.
As part of its age-based protections, all users are now required to sign in to use Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot, while access is restricted for children under 13, or at a higher age where required by local law.
The company said it had also introduced measures aimed at reducing users’ exposure to harmful content, directing them to crisis-support resources when self-harm risks are detected, and encouraging healthy use through break reminders, reporting tools and safeguards against delusional outputs.
Microsoft’s Bing search engine has strengthened protections against child sexual abuse material in its generative AI services and expanded its SafeSearch feature globally to cover additional categories of harmful content, the statement said.
The company has also introduced the Windows Age application programming interface (API), which provides developers with privacy-preserving age signals to help them offer age-appropriate experiences without collecting or sharing unnecessary personal information.
Emphasising that technology alone cannot ensure safe digital participation, Microsoft said it would deepen cooperation with researchers, AI safety institutes, governments and civil society organisations in the coming year.
