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Nasze dzieci w sieci (gościni: Magdalena Bigaj) | TECHNOFOBIA

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Episode overview: harms to children online and what to do next

The episode “Nasze dzieci w sieci (gościni: Magdalena Bigaj) | TECHNOFOBIA” is a wide-ranging discussion about harms to children online, the role of platforms and politics, and what regulators and society should do next—especially in the context of Poland’s upcoming school phone restrictions and the Institute of Digital Citizenship (ICO) monitoring reports on children’s internet use.

Core thesis: platforms should not “self-regulate”

A recurring argument is that either:

  • platforms get controlled, or
  • platforms control users,

and the current balance is unacceptable—particularly for minors.

The guest rejects both:

  • techno-solutionism (trusting technology fixes alone), and
  • techno-fatalism (assuming nothing can change).

Instead, she advocates technohumanism: technologies should be judged by whether they are good for humans, especially children.

“Children’s Internet” monitoring reports as leverage against industry denial

The conversation highlights why ICO’s reporting matters:

  • It is not presented as classic scientific research, but as an evidence-based monitoring tool created using industry measurement data (e.g., Gemius and Mediapanel).
  • When ICO first published the report, it challenged industry claims such as “we don’t have children on our services.”
  • Those claims were often defended using simplistic age thresholds (e.g., “13+”).

The point is not only to publish numbers, but to:

  • enable yearly comparisons, and
  • create pressure on political decision-makers and platforms to react.

Documented exposure: pornography, alcohol advertising, and algorithmic targeting

Key claims from the reports and discussion include:

  • A “huge percentage” of children being exposed to pornography online.
  • Alcohol advertising exposure, including:
    • ICO estimates “over a million” children (about 1.3 million) exposed to alcohol ads—especially beer.
    • Several hundred thousand exposed to higher-proof alcohol ads (e.g., vodka).
    • The issue is framed as especially scandalous because alcohol advertising online is illegal under Polish rules.

The guest argues these harms happen through multiple pathways:

  1. Platform account/age-verification loopholes (unverified children using “13+” accounts or misrepresenting age)
  2. Influencer-driven marketing
  3. Algorithmic recommendations that “push” adult content into minors’ feeds
    • TikTok is highlighted as a major mechanism.

Age verification and “control” measures: necessary, but not naive

Bigaj supports stronger restrictions, but criticizes approaches that:

  • place the age-verification burden on platforms without trust/verification, or
  • rely on closed whitelists/blacklists of prohibited sites, since minors can move through the “long tail” of other services.

Call for a structured European risk classification system

She proposes a more structured European classification system for digital products/services, analogous in spirit to PEGI, but for online services, with:

  • consumer-visible risk labeling
  • penalties for products that falsely claim safety from exposure to pornography, violence, hate, or self-harm

Privacy concerns

She also discusses:

  • privacy issues around identity wallets, data storage, and security,
  • and argues for options that minimize data centralization.

Why the school phone ban was pursued: goals beyond pornography

The episode turns to Poland’s planned top-down ban on phone use in primary schools starting September 1 (with requirements extending to other institutions).

Bigaj argues the phone ban is not mainly about what is watched (e.g., pornography), because:

  • most screen time happens outside school
    • she cites 13% in school vs. 87% outside.

Instead, she claims the intent is educational and behavioral:

  • improving concentration
  • reducing bullying and recording incidents (e.g., bullying in school bathrooms)
  • improving safety and relationship-building during breaks

She also critiques arguments that phones are “new media skills,” saying schools already need core competencies like sustained focus, and phones undermine that.

Finally, she emphasizes that bans work best when implemented well:

  • clear rules,
  • contracts and routines,
  • carried out over multiple school years.

Social backlash and political incentives: fear of repeal, but broad approval

The guest predicts the reform could become a political target, criticized during election campaigns (possibly compared to other failed/withdrawn policies).

Still, she reports:

  • high public approval (claims around 70%),
  • and references a parliamentary vote with overwhelming support.

She argues that once laws help change social norms (the “norm-forming power”), reversals become harder—similar to earlier social shifts around smoking restrictions.

The human side: parental inequality, digital neglect, and harm dynamics

Bigaj illustrates how online harm interacts with real family and school conditions:

  • harm does not require intentional searching—peer devices and algorithms can trigger content
  • not all parents can intervene (due to knowledge, stress, or socio-cultural barriers), which can widen inequality in outcomes
  • phone-enabled environments can intensify peer cruelty and group dynamics (cyberbullying and “herd” mechanisms)

Concrete example

The episode includes an example of a child sending rape images via WhatsApp, leading to police involvement—used to demonstrate urgent reporting obligations and gaps in platform responsibility.

Broader critique: lobbying, influence campaigns, and media hypocrisy

Bigaj argues that platform lobbying is massive and systemic (citing European Parliament lobbying figures and spending).

She also claims that:

  • some “parenting influencers” and media narratives create a pro-platform framing that softens harms
  • political hypocrisy is widespread: politicians and media may denounce harms while also legitimizing teen influencers or platform logic

What should come next: education, systemic regulation, and “active hope”

The institute’s educational programs (“digital hygiene”) are described as large-scale:

  • educators visiting hundreds of institutions nationwide
  • guidance integrated into school curricula

She calls for a combined strategy:

  • regulation that platforms cannot easily evade
  • educational interventions
  • social pressure, such as parents writing MPs or schools reporting to communities

Culturally, she advocates “active hope” rather than despair:

  • recognize platforms won’t become ethical on their own,
  • keep pushing for practical reforms,
  • and make personal behavior changes (“start with your hand,” i.e., how you use your phone).

Presenters / contributors

  • Artur Kurasiński — presenter (host of the Technophobia podcast)
  • Magdalena Bigaj — guest; president of the Institute of Digital Citizenship (ICO)

Original video