Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The UN Human Rights Office has issued a 10-point framework urging governments and technology companies to make social media platforms safe for children by design, rather than relying solely on age bans. The guidelines, titled Getting Children's Safety Online Right, warn that harmful features like addictive infinite scroll, autoplay, and persistent notifications are deliberate commercial design choices, not inevitabilities.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized that online harms to children's safety, privacy, and wellbeing result from these design and business practices. He noted that blocking children from social media can be easily bypassed and may push them toward more dangerous, less monitored digital spaces. He stressed that limiting access to unsafe platforms should not be the endpoint of safety efforts.
Peggy Hicks, Director of Thematic Engagement and Special Procedures at OHCHR, said technology companies now face a choice: change platform design and operation to enhance children's rights and safety, or face increasingly restrictive legislation and regulatory fines.
The guidelines recommend embedding safety into platform architecture from the outset, conducting mandatory child rights impact assessments, implementing tightly controlled age verification methods to protect privacy, and engaging children through meaningful consultation to inform regulatory responses. Hicks highlighted the need for agile, evidence-based policymaking to keep pace with rapid digital developments like AI and chatbots.