A recently published research article by Sonia Livingstone and Kruakae Pothong, supported by the 5Rights Foundation, explores the potential and current implementation of CRIAs in strengthening and protecting children’s rights in digital environments. The authors' research revealed that some companies, particularly those in the telecommunications and mobile sectors, have started to incorporate CRIAs into their development and business processes. The key drivers behind this development are regulatory requirements and increasing pressure from civil society and political advocacy groups. Nevertheless, the authors emphasise that the application of CRIAs in the digital realm remains largely sector-specific, with social media platforms and the gaming sector often failing to implement them.
Through qualitative interviews with digital service providers, the study identifies additional barriers to the effective implementation of CRIAs in the digital context.
To further promote and raise awareness of the application of CRIAs in digital development, Livingstone and Pothong (2023) have developed a toolkit that provides concrete guidelines for implementing CRIAs in the digital corporate context.
The full research article by Livingstone & Pothong (2025) on the Child Rights Impact Assessment as well as their toolkit published in 2023 are available for download.