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.

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.

Political intention to introduce age restrictions on social media is intensifying across Europe. Several European Union member states are advancing national initiatives, reflecting growing concerns about the impact of social media on minors. France, Denmark, Greece and Spain are among the countries that have announced or introduced measures to restrict social media use by under-18s. - At the European supranational level, the debate is also gaining momentum. The European Union has set up a panel of child protection experts to advise on possible EU-wide age restrictions, with recommendations expected by the end of the summer.

On Monday Feb. 9th, 2026, ahead of Safer Internet Day the Lisbon Council invited a group of experts to discuss what scientific evidence and practice teach us about children and social media. In the light of the Australian experiment on banning under 16th from a certain selection of social media platforms governments around the globe are rushing to decide whether to follow the same path or find a different approach.

The United Nation‘s General Assembly will convene to deliberate on the World Summit of Information Society Review and the prolongation of the mandate for the Internet Governance Forum. The report refers to the start of the consultations.

Since 2015, the Council of Europe has been calling for the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual violence on November 18—both offline and online. For the tenth consecutive year, the aim of the day of action is to raise awareness of sexual violence against children, provide comprehensive information to the public, and promote effective prevention and protection measures. By ratifying the Lanzarote Convention, Germany has also made a legal commitment to take measures to combat sexual violence.

Although children and young people make up about one third of internet users worldwide, their perspectives are still rarely taken into account in technology-related policies, design processes, and decision-making structures. To counter this, the authors Sonia Livingstone and Kruakae Pothong argue that a tool such as the “Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool” can serve as a practical instrument for integrating children’s rights more comprehensively, early on, and systematically into political and administrative decision-making processes.

The Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS) conducted 15 scientifically based studies over a period of six years. The research focused on the effects of digital technologies on the well-being of young people.

Preparations for the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) 2026 have begun. Proposals for the thematic structure of the programme can be submitted until 31 December 2025.

At the annual general meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the board decided to continue the Registration Data Request System (RDRS) for another two years.

The ICANN community will meet in Dublin, Ireland, from 25 to 30 October to hold its annual general meeting. The conference will focus on the further development of policies and processes by the ICANN community.

EU digital ministers meeting in Horsens, Denmark, under the leadership of Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage, agreed on stronger protection for minors on the internet. In the presence of EU Vice President Henna Virkkunen, the majority of ministers spoke out in favor of protecting minors on the internet. Together, they adopted the Jutland Declaration for a safe digital environment for children and young people.