Children’s Rights in the Digital Age
Children do not lose their rights when they go online. Privacy, protection, education, access to information, participation and non-discrimination all have digital dimensions.
The key idea: rights continue online
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No. 25 explains how the Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to the digital environment. Digital technology can expand children’s opportunities to learn, express themselves and participate. It can also create new risks involving data, profiling, harmful content, exploitation, discrimination and unequal access.
A useful way to understand digital rights is to ask two questions at the same time: What opportunity does technology create for children? and what safeguards are needed so that the opportunity does not undermine another right?
Six rights that matter especially online
Privacy
Children’s personal data, communications and identities deserve protection. Privacy settings and data practices should take children’s age and vulnerability into account.
Protection from harm
Children need safeguards against exploitation, harassment, harmful contact and other online risks without treating all digital participation as dangerous.
Access to information
The internet can give children access to education and diverse information. Safety measures should be balanced with the right to seek and receive information.
Education
Digital literacy is increasingly part of meaningful education. Children should learn how algorithms, privacy, verification and AI-generated content affect what they see.
Participation
Children should have age-appropriate opportunities to express views about digital systems, policies and technologies that affect them.
Non-discrimination
Technology should not deepen inequality or unfairly disadvantage children based on disability, language, income, geography or other characteristics.
What a rights-based digital service should aim for
- Privacy and safety settings appropriate for children by default.
- Clear explanations that children can actually understand.
- Data collection limited to what is necessary for a legitimate purpose.
- Ways to report problems and seek review of important decisions.
- Design choices that do not exploit children’s vulnerabilities simply to increase engagement.
- Accessibility and inclusion for children with different needs and levels of connectivity.
Where AI fits into children’s rights
AI can influence recommendations, education, content creation, moderation, advertising and automated decisions. Current UNICEF guidance calls for child-centred AI that includes safety, privacy, fairness, transparency, accountability, inclusion and children’s best interests. In 2026, the ITU and multiple international organisations also backed a joint statement calling for a child-centred, rights-based approach to AI.
Frequently asked questions
Do children have a right to privacy online?
Yes. The Convention on the Rights of the Child includes a right to privacy, and the UN Committee has specifically explained how children’s rights apply in the digital environment.
Does online safety mean blocking children from the internet?
Not necessarily. A rights-based approach seeks safe, age-appropriate access while protecting privacy, participation, information and other rights.
What is General Comment No. 25?
It is the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s 2021 guidance explaining how states should implement children’s rights in relation to the digital environment.
Trusted sources and further reading
This guide uses and points readers to primary or established child-rights and online-safety sources.