Child safety in cyberspace

The UN emphasizes that ensuring a safe "digital world" for children must be an urgent priority. Speaking at the launch of the UN guidance document on principles for protecting children online, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stated that countries need to take measures to compel large technology companies to integrate child safety measures into their online environments.

The UN emphasizes that protecting children online is an urgent task. Photo: GETTYIMAGES

The guidelines, titled “Ensuring Children’s Online Safety,” published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ahead of International Children’s Day (June 1st), include 10 principles for protecting children on digital platforms, including ensuring the highest level of protection for children’s data. According to the guidelines, some new issues, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots or addictive designs, require age restrictions, while ensuring children’s access to redress mechanisms when their rights are violated.

In a statement on May 29, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed out that while the "digital world " can help children access learning, social interaction, and community integration, as well as foster creativity, it also poses real risks to children's safety, privacy, and mental health. The harms children face in the digital space—from addictive design features (automatic video playback and constant notifications from apps, etc.) to privacy violations—are not inevitable, but rather the result of deliberate commercial choices.

Emphasizing that strengthening the protection of children in cyberspace is an urgent priority that needs to be implemented promptly and effectively, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on countries and technology companies to adopt stronger measures to make online platforms safe places for children, through stricter regulation, increased oversight, and enhanced accountability.

The OHCHR guidelines were issued amid a growing global trend of age restrictions on social media. In December 2025, Australia enacted legislation banning children under 16 from using online platforms, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia, while many other countries are considering similar moves.

However, Turk warned that comprehensive social media bans are not the optimal solution, as focusing solely on age restrictions will not change the designs and algorithms. He pointed out that bans can be easily circumvented, even leading children to switch to riskier and less supervised platforms. He said, "Simply restricting access to platforms is still unsafe and cannot be considered a last resort."

Therefore, the UN is calling on technology companies to integrate safety elements from the design stage, instead of shifting the burden onto parents and children. Peggy Hicks, Director of Special Professional and Procedure Affairs at OHCHR, stated: Technology companies need to change how they design and operate digital platforms to better protect the rights and safety of children, or face legal consequences and fines imposed by regulatory authorities.

The OHCHR guidelines also recommend mandatory impact assessments on children's rights, strict age verification regulations to protect children from privacy risks, and consultation with children themselves when developing regulatory response measures.

The European Union (EU) is also considering new regulations related to ensuring the safety of children on digital platforms. In a statement last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the EU should consider restricting children's access to social media through new regulations, which could be proposed within the next few months. The EC President tasked a group of experts with reporting by July on the progress of steps the EU should take to protect minors online, including the possibility of banning social media use.

Ensuring children's safety in the online environment was also a major topic at the G7 Ministers' Meeting on Digital Affairs, held in Paris, France, last weekend. The ministers discussed and agreed on approaches and measures to protect children in the digital environment, along with issues related to security and technology, AI governance, and more.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/an-toan-cho-tre-em-tren-khong-gian-mang-5094265.html