Tech, Education, Impact & Ethics

Children are growing up in a world where the digital and physical are no longer separate. From education and play to health and social life, technology shapes almost every aspect of their experience. Yet despite their constant presence online, children’s rights are often overlooked in digital spaces—or, worse, treated as an afterthought.

Recent guidance from UNICEF (Best Interests of the Child in the Digital Environment, 2025) reinforces a powerful truth: children are rights-holders online, just as they are offline. This means they have the right not only to be protected from harm, but also to access information, participate freely, and have their voices heard in shaping the technologies that affect them.

Too often, efforts to protect children online focus solely on safety—blocking harmful content or increasing parental controls. While these are important, they don’t go far enough. The real question is: how do we build digital environments that respect, enable, and empower children holistically?

Thomson Reuters highlights the increasing urgency of this conversation in the wake of AI, data-driven platforms, and growing regulatory pressure. With children’s data being collected, analyzed, and stored—often without clear consent or understanding—we face a critical moment. Who owns children’s data? How is it used? And who ensures it’s not exploited or repurposed for commercial gain?

Protecting digital rights means designing platforms and policies that are transparent, accountable, and built with children’s best interests at their core. It means:

• Giving children a voice in the design and governance of tech

• Making terms of service understandable for young users

• Developing ethical data practices that go beyond compliance

• Recognizing that digital exclusion (based on gender, geography, or income) is also a rights issue

This isn’t just a matter of safeguarding. It’s about creating a digital ecosystem where children can thrive, not just survive—where technology is a tool for learning, creativity, and agency.

As AI and digital platforms evolve, we must ask: Are we designing a digital world for children, or with them? The difference will define the next generation.