The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), UNICEF, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), UNESCO, UNICRI, UNODA, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Representatives of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and on Violence against Children, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children issued the Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence and the Rights of the Child in Geneva on 19 January 2026.

On Wednesday, Dec. 17th, 2025 the United Nations General Assembly have agreed on the Outcome Document of the WSIS +20 Review and established a permanent mandate for the Internet Governance Forum.

The United Nation‘s General Assembly will convene to deliberate on the World Summit of Information Society Review and the prolongation of the mandate for the Internet Governance Forum. The report refers to the start of the consultations.

To mark the fourth anniversary of GC25, the report “The Impact of General Comment No. 25 in the UNCRC Review Process” by the Digital Futures for Children Centre in the Department of Media and Communication, in partnership with the 5Rights Foundation, was released. The report examines how General Comment No. 25 is incorporated into and implemented in current political and legal processes. Further details can be found in our article.

On Wednesday, MEPs adopted a non-legislative report by 483 votes in favour, 92 against and with 86 abstentions, expressing deep concern over the physical and mental health risks minors face online and calling for stronger protection against the manipulative strategies that can increase addiction and that are detrimental to children’s ability to concentrate and engage healthily with online content.

Since 2015, the Council of Europe has been calling for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual violence on November 18—both offline and online. For the tenth consecutive year, the aim of the day of action is to raise awareness of sexual violence against children, provide comprehensive information to the public, and promote effective prevention and protection measures. By ratifying the Lanzarote Convention, Germany has also made a legal commitment to take measures to combat sexual violence.

Although children and young people make up about one third of internet users worldwide, their perspectives are still rarely taken into account in technology-related policies, design processes, and decision-making structures. To counter this, the authors Sonia Livingstone and Kruakae Pothong argue that a tool such as the “Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool” can serve as a practical instrument for integrating children’s rights more comprehensively, early on, and systematically into political and administrative decision-making processes.

The Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS) conducted 15 scientifically based studies over a period of six years. The research focused on the effects of digital technologies on the well-being of young people.

Preparations for the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) 2026 have begun. Proposals for the thematic structure of the programme can be submitted until 31 December 2025.

‘Parents Talk Online Safety’ is a new More in Common study based on speaking with almost 10,000 parents across the US, UK, France, Poland and the Netherlands. The research finds parents both highly concerned about the online safety of their children and struggling with keeping their kids safe online and deeply frustrated with both politicians and tech company leaders for failure to grip the problem.

At the annual general meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the board decided to continue the Registration Data Request System (RDRS) for another two years.

The ICANN community will meet in Dublin, Ireland, from 25 to 30 October to hold its annual general meeting. The conference will focus on the further development of policies and processes by the ICANN community.