SEONGNAM, South Korea, Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — NAVER Z, an affiliate of NAVER Corp. (KRX:035420), announced today that the company joined the Tech Coalition to prioritize the safety of children and teenagers in ZEPETO, Asia’s largest metaverse platform. Tech Coalition is an alliance of global technology companies that are working to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse on the internet and across digital platforms, and over 20 global IT companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have joined forces.
As a member of the Tech Coalition, NAVER Z joins 27 companies that are working to develop new technologies, fund new research, increase reporting, and take collective action to ensure a more coordinated and collaborative approach to keeping children safe online.
For young users of ZEPETO, the NAVER Z updated the Community Guidelines, which highlight that minor safety violations are reviewed with the highest priority and severity, and published Guardian’s Guide to equip parents, guardians, and caretakers with informative resources to help keep young users safe. NAVER Z’s global Trust and Safety team is also working around the clock to develop tools and resources that prevent, detect, and remove accounts that engage in child sexual exploitation and abuse.
In addition to partnerships with Tech Coalition, NAVER Z is cooperating with leading global online safety experts and organizations, including ConnectSafely, Trust and Safety Professional Association, and BBB National Programs.
NAVER Z is committed to promoting the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse– a high-level framework developed by the Five Country Ministerial (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and US) in consultation with leading experts intended to drive collective action to prevent these harms against children.
“We’re thrilled to join the Tech Coalition and our peers working to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse online through collaboration,” says Daewook Kim, Chief Executive Officer of NAVER Z. “ZEPETO is a platform that empowers users to connect and create without the boundaries of the physical world. Our key responsibility is ensuring ZEPETO is a safe place where our community, especially our younger users, can play and create without fear of harm. As a member of the Coalition, we will contribute to the industry-wide initiatives to develop technology, policy, research, and tools to keep children safe online.”
“From our first conversation with NAVER Z, their strong commitment to protecting the children that use their platform has been clear,” says Sean Litton, Executive Director of the Tech Coalition. “We look forward to working with them and aligning their expertise as part of our coordinated effort to create a digital world where children are free to play, learn, and explore without fear of harm.”
About NAVER Z
NAVER Z launched the metaverse platform ZEPETO in August 2018, attracting users in more than 200 countries around the world. Creators and builders utilize ZEPETO Studio to connect with 340 million users globally, growing by 40% y-o-y. More than 95% of the users are millennials and Gen Z from outside of Korea, showing the virtual platform’s promise for future growth. ZEPETO is collaborating with fashion and beauty companies, including BVLGARI, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Nike, global entertainment agencies and pop stars, such as TinyTAN, Selena Gomez, BLACKPINK and NMIXX as well as companies, such as Starbucks, Samsung, and Hyundai Motor Company. Launched in 2020, ZEPETO Studio allows ZEPETO users to monetize their creations. More than 175 million items have been sold, building a new creator economy.
About the Tech Coalition
The Tech Coalition facilitates the global tech industry’s fight against the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children. An alliance of technology companies of varying sizes and sectors, Tech Coalition members work together to drive critical advances in technology and adoption of best practices for keeping children safe online. The Coalition convenes and aligns the global tech industry, pooling their knowledge and expertise, to help all the members better prevent, detect, report, and remove online child sexual abuse content. The coalition represents a powerful core of expertise that is moving the tech industry towards a safer digital world.