General comment No. 25 5th Anniversary Joint Letter

• 03/02/2026

On the fifth anniversary of the adoption of General Comment No. 25 on children's rights in the digital environment, 53 organisations and signatories remind the States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to realise children's rights on the internet and in digital services.

In its General Comment No. 25 on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on the Rights of the Child declared on 2 March 2021 that all children's rights apply equally offline and online and how children's rights to protection, provision and participation can be realised in the digital environment. The document emphasises the opportunities and benefits that young people find online for their education, recreation, personal development and participation, and argues that all children and young people should be given access to these. At the same time, it points out the risks and potential harms and explains that young people must be protected online so that they can exercise their rights and benefit from the digital environment in a safe manner. To this end, the Committee on the Rights of the Child also establishes the right to digital education, which requires States Parties, among other things, to inform young people and adults about this and to educate them on safe use. In addition, platforms and providers of digital applications should be held accountable and obliged to provide products that protect the privacy and data of young people, do not exploit them economically, and promote their individual development through age-appropriate design.

In their joint letter, the supporting organisations and signatories call for:

1. Explicitly protecting children as every individual below the age of 18, recognizing their diversity and evolving capacities.
2. Protecting children across all digital spaces they are likely to access or be impacted by.
3. Making children’s best interests a primary consideration.
4. Requiring age assurance to provide age-appropriate digital experiences.
5. Mandating Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs).
6. Embedding privacy and safety by design and default.
7. Prohibiting practices likely to contribute to known harms.
8. Ensuring published terms, reporting mechanisms, and access to remedy are available, age-appropriate, and upheld.
9. Mandating responsible business conduct, including meaningful child participation.
10. Establishing oversight and effective enforcement mechanisms.