![[Translate to Englisch:] (c) Torsten Krause](/fileadmin/user_upload/14.09..svg)
Following a year of intensive work, the work of the expert commission on ‘Child and Youth Protection in the Digital World’ culminated in a closing event on Friday, 11 September 2026. At this event, the two co-chairs of the expert commission, Nadine Schön and Prof. Olaf Köller, jointly presented the final report to Federal Minister for Family Affairs Karin Prien. The co-chairs emphasised the preventive nature of their recommendations. Children and young people should be introduced to the digital environment and learn how to navigate it. In doing so, they need support just as much as parents and educators do.
Minister Prien acknowledged the work of the expert commission and expressed her gratitude for the involvement of children and young people in the development of the recommendations for action. She noted that the conclusion of the expert commission’s work now marks the start of the process of translating the suggestions into action. She therefore announced that an emergency programme would be submitted to the Federal Government on 16 October 2026. This programme is to include specific measures and proposals, including amendments to legislation, which are to be addressed by the end of the year. In this context, she pointed out that decisions would also need to be taken regarding the financial implications of the recommendations for action and that young people should also be involved in their implementation.
The Commission’s findings were subsequently presented and discussed in a series of round-table discussions covering the various stages of young people’s development.
In a total of 56 recommendations for action, the members of the expert commission outline how the internet and social media can be made safer for young people, addressing these recommendations to various stakeholders. The recommendations for action take into account the three pillars of children’s rights: protection, provision and participation, and also focus on five key principles. Accordingly, they should build on established structures and practices, create appropriate scope for local initiative, organise responsibility in a binding and collaborative manner, reduce friction at intersections and continuously take technological developments into account.
In addition to the recommendations for action issued by the Expert Commission in June 2026, we have also made the final report from September 2026 available on our website. As well as these, the report includes, amongst other things, the status report from April 2026 and information on the strategic foresight process. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs has published a child-friendly version of the expert commission’s recommendations for action. In the booklet ‘Experts’ Proposals for a Better and Safer Internet’, the 56 recommendations are presented in a way that is both linguistically and visually appealing and easy for children and young people to understand. All these documents are available in German only. An overview of the 56 recommendations for action, in English, can be found in our article “Expert Commission: The digital world must be child-friendly”.
The project ‘Child Protection and Children’s Rights in the Digital World’, run by the Stiftung Digitale Chancen, was responsible for organising participatory workshops to engage children and young people. In spring 2026, more than 100 young people came together in seven different local authorities across Germany to share their experiences and work out ideas for a safer and better internet. The report “Together for a Better and Safer Internet” on this participatory process can be viewed in English on our website.