Human Rights Office issues 10 guidelines to promote children’s online safety

In a statement issued by his office on Friday, Turk said that the digital world, which connects children to learning, society, and creativity, also exposes them to real risks that threaten their safety, privacy, and well-being.

He added: “Harms to children’s safety, privacy, and well-being online are not innate or inevitable, but rather the product of design choices and business practices that undermine safety, including addictive design features, such as endless browsing, autoplay, and constant notifications from apps.”.

To ensure that approaches to these complex issues are human rights-based, the UN Human Rights Office has issued 10 guidelines to promote children’s online safety and protect their rights, under the title “Ensuring children’s safety online: the right approach.”

A comprehensive ban is not a magic solution

The High Commissioner made it clear that a comprehensive ban on social media is not a single magic solution to such a multi-faceted issue.

He added: “We need much broader action by governments and businesses alike, to ensure that platforms themselves are safer by design, protect data, hold accountable those responsible for causing harm, and ensure full respect for children’s rights and needs at all stages.”.

Turk noted that regulations that focus exclusively on the ages of people who are allowed to access certain digital tools and platforms may leave unchanged the design choices and algorithm-based practices that are the factors that make these platforms unsafe in the first place.

Avoid further damage

The Human Rights Office noted that many countries are witnessing an increase in proposals aimed at banning social media for children.

He stated that among what the guidelines call for are the following:

🔹Age restrictions imposed on children’s access to specific services or content should be directed towards clearly defined harms.

🔹Taking a number of additional steps to ensure effective regulation that avoids risks related to human rights.

🔹 Establishing preventive controls surrounding age verification processes.

🔹Conduct mandatory impact assessments on children’s rights.

🔹Involve children when determining organizational responses.

🔹Imposing transparency, tightening control and accountability on companies.

🔹Ensuring that children whose rights are violated have access to redress.

The High Commissioner said that “Whatever regulations are adopted, it is absolutely necessary to avoid unintentionally causing further damage.”.

He gave the example that if the age verification process is implemented incorrectly, it may fail in achieving its goal, and even put the privacy of both children and adults at risk.