While children are active users of the internet today, policymakers need to be prepared to ensure that children can have safe, equitable, diverse, inclusive, and meaningful access to technology-related opportunities. That is why in this post LSE’s Professor Sonia Livingstone and Ph.D. researcher Anri van der Spuy explain why the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child prioritized multistakeholder and multidisciplinary consultation in developing its new General Comment.
They consider the adoption of General Comment 25 by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is a very important step. So, this Comment is invaluable guidance for every government on how to promote and protect children’s rights regardless of where they are, who they are, or whether they even have access to the internet at the moment or not. Moreover, the UNCRC must be provided by UN member states and they have to report regularly on how they and other stakeholders meet obligations.
Besides this, the Committee consulted with children (700 children in 26 countries) about the impact of digital technologies on their rights and what action they want to see taken to promote and protect them which later will be used to create children’s version of the GC children’s consultation.