Children's Rights in the Digital Environment

by Sarra Abdallah, SF Law

Childhood and adolescence have been significantly altered by digital technologies The internet and devices used to access it have become essential parts of young people's lives all around the world. They have changed how they go to school and learn, how they make and maintain friendships, how they use their free time, and how they interact with the rest of society. According to UNICEF, one child out of every three uses the internet globally, and one out of every three of these users is a child under the age of 18. As much as the internet provides children with an opportunity to learn, and be innovative, there are hazards involved and potential negative effects that need to be considered It is therefore important to ensure the correct implementation of children's rights in the digital environment.

Along with the vast opportunities the digital environment brings for children comes a range of risks. These risks range from cyberbullying, data pro- r tection issues, cybercrime, and child sexual abuse material However, with the provision of the right education and implementation of laws children can avoid the harmful risks of the internet and take advantage of the useful resources it may provide them. The Council of Europe Strategy for the rights of the child (2022-2027) focuses on children's rights in the digital environment. This was reinforced by the Recommendation CM/Rec (2018)7 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment These principles are completed by the new Handbook for Policy Makers on the Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment, which offers policy makers interpretive advice to ensure that children's rights are respected online, supports the creation of national frameworks and laws, and promotes compliance. Ultimately, these policies are important as they aim to protect children online from grooming, sexual violence, cybersexism, cyberbullying and online hate speech, as well as exposure to pornographic and other harmful content These policies also provide guidance to teachers and other professionals on how to involve children in the creation and delivery of digital education and address the spread of false information, hate speech, and violent radical ideologies over the internet and social media. Moreover, the policies urge businesses to fulfil their obligations to children, particularly by conducting child impact assessments, ensuring that children are involved in the evaluation process, and incorporating children into the creation of digital services and products

Turning to other sources of child protection in the digital sphere, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 requires companies to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under the age of 16. It also gives children the right to access and delete their own data The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international treaty that outlines the basic rights of all children, including the right to privacy, protection from harm and access to information The Irish government consented to have its implementation of the UNCRC periodically evaluated by the UN when it signed the UNHCR. As a result, Ireland undergoes an oral examination by the Committee members every five years and provides a progress report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. On behalf of non-governmental organisations, The Children's Rights Alli l provides an impartial report, which is "Parallel Report ”

Despite the existence of relevant le international obligations, it is submitted human rights institutions should engage with independent oversight authorities their mission regarding children's righ government should encourage the esta organisations such as The European Ombudsman for Children (ENOC), organisation which ensures that releva wide organisations adopt a child right their work and place children's rights at their operations, legislation, and pol advocacy and policy work. Such provide a central role in ensuring the im of heightened child protection laws.

Undoubtedly, the effect of the content that children encounter online should be a primary focus of these organisations According to The Internet Watch Foundation, a report in 2021 illustrated that there were 252,000 confirmed URLs containing images/videos of children being sexually abused. It is evident from these statistics that governments need to take urgent action by implementing harsher penalties on those who break child protection laws and ensuring the swift removal of illegal online content It is important for the government to protect the rights guaranteed by the UNCRC by strengthening implementation measures to deliver a modern data protection framework that protects the "best interests" of the child in digital environments.