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.

The brochure presents an international blueprint for creating digital environments that respect and uphold children’s rights. Building on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and General Comment No. 25, it outlines how digital spaces can be designed to effectively protect and promote children’s rights. The report examines common policy approaches, identifies implementation gaps, and sets out ten regulatory principles to guide legislators in applying international best practices.

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 Policy brief, published in December 2025, is based on a comparative analysis of regulatory provisions for online platforms in six different jurisdictions.

The publication, released in December 2025, provides updated guidelines for governments and companies on creating AI policies and systems that protect children's rights.

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.

The written statement on children's rights in the digital environment is available for download in English below. The contribution was written as part of the WSIS+20 review process.

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.