In marketing, we know that when a product enters a new market first, its name often becomes the name of the entire category. Think of Zoom, it became the generic term for video conferencing, even when people were actually using Teams, Google Meet, or another platform.
In the world of child protection online, a similar thing happened. For many years, the category has been known as “Parental Control.” It’s a term born in the early days of the industry, when solutions focused mainly on web content filtering.
But after more than a decade in this field, and as a father of four (not so little) kids. I’ve never truly connected to the idea that a parent’s role is to control their children.
Our children are not robots. And I don’t believe that controlling them is the goal. Our role as parents is to educate, guide, and protect, while helping them gradually grow into independent, responsible digital citizens.
We Chose a New Term: “Online Child Safety Service”
At PureSight, we have chosen to move away from the old terminology. We refer to our solution as an Online Child Safety Service, because it reflects what modern families actually need today:
- Not control.
- Not restriction for the sake of restriction.
- But involvement, awareness, and timely guidance.
The digital world has changed dramatically. If once the main risk was inappropriate websites, today the challenge is very different:
- 📱 Kids spend far less time “browsing the internet.”
- 📲 And significantly more time inside dedicated social, gaming, and messaging platforms.
This shift created an entirely new reality for parents.
The New Parenting Challenge
Every parent knows this moment:
You’re sitting in the living room with your child. They are next to you, holding a smartphone. Yet you have no idea:
- Who they are talking to
- What content they’re seeing
- What conversations they are involved in
- Or what is happening inside those apps
This lack of parental visibility is not a small issue. It removes a parent’s ability to guide, support, and protect. And that is a fundamental problem.
Regulation Is Coming – But Often Focused on Yesterday’s Problems
Across the world, more governments are realizing their responsibility to protect children online. This is encouraging, but many of these regulatory efforts still focus on yesterday’s challenges:
- Traditional content filtering
- Age-based blocking of entire platforms
- Attempts to isolate children from digital life altogether
But as I’ve said before: I don’t believe full isolation is the answer.
Social platforms are the “digital roads” of our time. Just like real roads, we can’t keep children away from them forever.
- We don’t ban kids from crossing the street.
- We teachthem how to cross safely.
- We hold their handwhen they’re young.
- And gradually, as they mature, they learn to navigate it on their own.
The digital world demands the same approach.
Modern Child Safety Must Focus on Social Platforms
To truly protect children today, safety solutions must be able to:
✔️ Monitor online interactions in social platforms
✔️ Detect risks early
✔️ Alert parents when intervention is needed
Because the real threats today are:
- Cyberbullying
- Predators initiating contact with children
- Harmful content and dangerous trends
- Emotional pressure or manipulation
- Exposure to age-inappropriate material
Parents don’t need to “control” their kids.
- They need awareness.
- They need timely information.
- They need the ability to remain involved, without intruding, and without breaking trust.
Our Mission at PureSight
At PureSight , this has been our mission from day one:
To empower parents with the right insights at the right time , so they can protect, guide, and support their children in the digital world.
Not through control. But through smart, AI-driven, respectful, and age-appropriate guidance.
As the digital world continues to evolve, so must the tools and language we use to keep our children safe.
And it starts by letting go of old terminology, and embracing the real challenge of our time: Online Child Safety.
If you’d like to explore how we support millions of families worldwide with AI-powered child protection, I’d be happy to connect.
