The Special Panel on Child Safety Online today presented its recommendations to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. In their report, the experts examine how children and young people grow up in the digital environment, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages, and propose a framework based on the developmental stages of young people. The German expert commission on ‘Protecting Children and Young People in the Digital World’ has already taken a similar approach, having submitted its report to the German government just under three weeks ago.

Kenya will host the 21th United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from 14 to 18 December 2026. For the first time since the United Nations General Assembly made the mandate permanent, participants from stakeholder groups representing government, private sector, technical community, intergovernmental organisations and civil society will gather in Nairobi. Together, they will discuss current issues and challenges relating to the shaping of the digital environment under the overarching theme ‘Governing the Internet in the Age of Intelligence: Our Shared Responsibility.

The multi-stakeholder community gathered in Seville, Spain, for the ICANN Policy Forum from 8 to 11 June to continue discussing current issues and developments regarding the structuring and safeguarding of the internet. The “Child Protection and Children’s Rights in the Digital World” project run by the Digital Opportunities Foundation has been actively involved in the ICANN community for years, working to ensure that aspects of child protection, in particular, are taken into account within the Domain Name System (DNS).

The G7 Digital and Technology Ministers (Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America) have, for the first time, defined a common set of principles for a safer and more secure digital space for minors. They call on digital service providers to use these principles as a guide for the design of their services and to work with the necessary partners to implement them.

As part of a survey, the European Commission is encouraging people to share their perspectives and ideas to help shape the EU Youth Strategy beyond 2027. The Youth Strategy promotes the active participation of young people in democracy and society. It focuses primarily on the areas of participation, empowerment, and interaction.

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.

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.

The age assurance industry has its Oscars. In a posh ceremony hosted by BBC presenter Charlie Stayt, the first-ever Age Assurance Industry Awards recognized organizations and individuals changing the face of the sector, and creating the path for its continued evolution.

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.

From 7 to 12 March, the multi-stakeholder community gathered at the ICANN 85 Community Forum in Mumbai (India). Together, they discussed current issues and developments relating to the security and further advancement of the Internet. From the perspective of the “Child Protection and Children’s Rights in the Digital World” project run by the Digital Opportunities Foundation, the focus was on efforts to develop and implement a human rights impact assessment, as well as on the upcoming decision-making process regarding the handling of urgent requests in the context of the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS). In addition, the drafting of a Policy Development Process (PDP) for dealing with DNS abuse was a key priority.

From 7 to 12 March, the multistakeholder community will meet in Mumbai, India, for the ICANN 85 Community Forum to discuss current issues and developments related to the security and advancement of the Internet. Among other things, the focus will be on the (continued) work on universal acceptance, the development and implementation of a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) within ICANN structures, and the use of the domain name system. Many bodies will also discuss further preparations for the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program. An overview of the main topics of the event can be found here.

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.