

European parents want to be in
the driving seat on teens’ apps use
On 27 November, ThinkYoung and FOLA hosted their Parents’ Assembly in Copenhagen, bringing together Danish and European parent organisations, youth digital safety advocates, policymakers, and industry leaders.
Key Takeaways
During the Assembly, ThinkYoung unveiled findings from its new poll on Parental Approval & Digital Experiences in Denmark and across Europe.
Read the full results for Europe here and for Denmark here.
As safety advocates, parent organisations, policymakers, experts, and industry leaders continue to debate how best to shape online protections for children and teens, this new survey highlights a clear preference among parents for more nuanced and parent-involved solutions.
“Agreeing on a harmonised digital majority for all teens in the EU, while ensuring parents and guardians remain the principal decision-makers, is the right thing to do. It will give every young person in the Union equal protection and opportunities to thrive online,” says Andrea Gerosa, Founder of ThinkYoung.
“Most parents and guardians know what is best for their children. That’s why they want to be in the driving seat when it comes to protecting their child online and building healthy digital habits,”
adds Andrea Gerosa.

Parents’ Assembly
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Speakers and Experts’ Bios
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Speakers and Experts’ Bios

Signe Nielsen,
Chairman, FOLA (Forældrenes Landsorganisation)
She is the president of the Danish Parental Union. She was elected president in 2019, and before that she worked for a Danish Trade Union. She is a mother of 2 girls, and lives in Copenhagen.

Andrea Gerosa,
Founder, ThinkYoung
Entrepreneur, working with and for startups and young people since 2002, starting at university when he joined the Junior Enterprises network. Today he is the founder of a think-tank on young people (www.thinkyoung.org), a series of schools for young entrepreneurs and a consulting company focused on Student Housing. He served for 4 years as Advisory Board member of INTA, the New York based International Trademark Association (www.inta.org) to advise them on youth related issues and he currently sits on the Board of Rentxpress, a portal for plug-and-play accommodations across Europe.

Charles Howard,
Head of Research, ThinkYoung
Charles Howard is the Head of Research at ThinkYoung, where he leads social and political research projects on children’s rights and meaningful youth engagement. This includes a focus on digital policy and children’s rights online, freedom of expression, equitable digital skills uptake, social inclusion, and the SDGs. Charles is also a Stakeholder Advisor to the International Observatory on Information and Democracy (OID) organised by the Forum on Information and Democracy. Charles has experience in multiple European based NGOs on EU policy and rights- based issues including at the Open Rights Group (ORG) and the Project for Democratic Union. Charles holds an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Magnus Hermann,
Chairman, Danske Skoleelever
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Beatriz Martín Padura,
Director General, Fad Juventud Foundation
General Manager at Fad Juventud Foundation since 2018. A Foundation dedicated to improving the well-being and quality of life of adolescents and young people, focused on sociological research of youth, and awareness campaigns and in programs about: prevention (misinformation, hate speech, drug abuse and other addictions, violence…) training for digital citizenship and employment, development of life skills, both in Spain and in Latin America. She also participates in the Committee of Experts for a Safe and Healthy Internet for Kids, and is a member of the advisory committee of the CEU Addiction Center. Beatriz has been working in non for profit since 2006. She has been responsible for strategic alliances and fundraising in LATAM in Ayuda en Acción and in an NGO to support homeless people in the NY (USA). Her previous experience of 20 years has been developed in companies from different industries, in both HR and Diversity areas. She is a psychologist with several postgraduate studies. She has collaborated in teaching and as co-author of several essays.

Daniel Blaabjerg-Zederkoff,
PhD Fellow, Master of Arts in History of Ideas Aarhus University
He is a PhD Fellow in educational psychology at the Danish School of Education (DPU), Aarhus University, conducting his research within the NOBE project at the Pedagogical Research Unit for Digital Generations (DigIgen). He is the originator of Digital Omsorg – conceptualized in English as Relational Digital Care – a relational, dialogic and action-oriented care approach designed to bridge intergenerational digital conversational gaps. His work examines how this approach can enhance children’s

Alexander Kleist,
Head of Instagram & Threads, Public Policy, Europe, Meta
Dr. Alexander Kleist is Head of Instagram & Threads, Public Policy, Europe for Meta. In this role, Kleist is responsible for the political and regulatory affairs of Instagram and Threads within the technology company in Europe. Kleist joined Meta in early 2020 and previously held a similar position responsible for the German-speaking and later the Central and Northern European markets. One of his key areas of focus is the safety and well-being of young users of the company's services.
ThinkYoung is a not-for-profit organisation, aiming to make the world a better place for young people by involving them in decision-making processes and providing decision-makers with high-quality research on youth conditions. ThinkYoung conducts studies and surveys, makes advocacy campaigns, writes policy proposals, and develops education programmes: up to date, ThinkYoung projects have reached over 800,000 young people.
Meta is a tech company with apps that you may know, like Instagram or WhatsApp. We work hard to build online spaces where young people can learn, connect, create, and have fun. We want young people to enjoy our platforms and to be safe, so creating spaces for young people to have their say on the future of platforms like ours is crucial.












