• Topic

    Evolving capacities

    The evolving capacities of the child as an enabling principle that addresses the process of their gradual acquisition of competencies, understanding and agency must be respected.

    That process has particular significance in the digital environment, where children can engage more independently from supervision by parents and caregivers.

    The risks and opportunities associated with children’s engagement in the digital environment change depending on their age and stage of development.

    This must be taken in considerations whenever measures to protect children in, or facilitate their access to, that environment are designed. The design of age-appropriate measures should be informed by the best and most up-to-date research available, from a range of disciplines.

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Survey of the United Nations on AI Governance

The United Nations is committed to ensuring that children and young people can grow up safely in a digital world, while actively involving young people themselves in this process. Since artificial intelligence is an increasingly important part of this, the UN is now seeking to learn about young people’s experiences.

(c) UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence –  Innocenti

UNICEF: From Children’s Voices to Action

The UNICEF working paper, published in March 2026, focuses on the perspectives of children and adolescents gathered through research.

Global Age Assurance Standards Summit: Final Communiqué

All participants at the Global Age Assurance Standards Summit were invited to contribute to a conference communiqué. You can find more information here.

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Age Assurance: From Regulation to Implementation

Representatives from industry and business, regulatory and administrative bodies, and civil society gathered in Manchester (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) this week, from 14 to 16 April, to exchange information on current developments in the field of age assurance. Following the two previous Global Age Assurance Standards Summits, which focused on the rationale and benefits of standardisation (2024) and the development of effective regulation (2025), this year’s conference centred on the implementation and realisation of age assurance measures.

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Age Assurance: From Regulation to Implementation

Representatives from industry and business, regulatory and administrative bodies, and civil society gathered in Manchester (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) this week, from 14 to 16 April, to exchange information on current developments in the field of age assurance. Following the two previous Global Age Assurance Standards Summits, which focused on the rationale and benefits of standardisation (2024) and the development of effective regulation (2025), this year’s conference centred on the implementation and realisation of age assurance measures.

European Commission: Survey on the Digital Fairness Act

The European Union wants children and teenagers to have safe and positive experiences when using apps, websites, games and social media, so it is creating a new law called the Digital Fairness Act. To help shape this law, the EU wants to hear from children and teenagers aged 12 to 17 about their experiences as consumers, including how apps and websites treat them when they choose, use or pay for things online. Your views will help make the digital world fairer for everyone your age.

European Commission: The Digital Services Act (DSA) explained

This European Commission publication explains the Digital Services Act (DSA) in simple terms.

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Commission holds first meeting of Special Panel on child safety online

Today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosted the first meeting of the Special Panel on child safety online. The panel, announced in the 2025 State of the Union address, will provide expert recommendations to better protect and empower children online and will explore the need for potential harmonised age restrictions to access social media.

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General comment No. 25 5th Anniversary Joint Letter

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.

European Action Plan against Cyberbullying

On Safer Internet Day 2026, the European Commission presented an action plan against cyberbullying to protect young people online. It is based on three pillars to protecting the mental health of children and young people online. Under this plan, the European Commission is committed to making more targeted use of existing programs and instruments to combat cyberbullying and invites all member states of the European Union to develop national action plans to support the cause jointly and equally, as well as to improve the data and knowledge base on the phenomenon.