First ads go live in pan-European campaign to make tech safe for kids
5Rights Foundation, in partnership with The European Association of CommunicationsAgencies (EACA), has launched a major pan-European public awareness campaign calling on lawmakers to ensure children are protected by design in digital environments.
Through a series of stark, childlike visuals, the campaign exposes the gap between what children need to thrive and the realities of that harm caused by online platforms designed to maximise engagement, collect data and shape behaviour.
At the heart of the campaign is a simple message: Tech must be safe for kids.
The campaign was created by Innocean Berlin after winning 5Rights’ and EACA’s Campaign4Good competition and forms part of 5Rights Foundation’s broader effort to secure a digital world where children’s rights are respected and protected by default — not left to parents and children to manage alone.
It calls for policymakers across Europe to introduce stronger safeguards for children online, including mandatory child safety standards for digital products and services, protections against manipulative personalisation, and meaningful enforcement against platforms that expose children to harm.
The campaign also encourages the public to support these demands through a petition calling for:
- child safety certification for technology used by children;
- protections for under-13s from personalised and addictive design features;
- graduated digital rights and protections for all under-18s; and
- penalties and restrictions for services that fail to protect children.
Today, almost all children aged 3–17 are online or use digital platforms. Research by 5Rights Foundation has shown that children can encounter harmful content within hours of opening a social media account, and once exposed, recommendation systems can rapidly intensify and repeat harmful material.
The campaign has already appeared across more than 100 advertising sites in Brussels and London, with media space generously donated by Bauer Media, Amplifi Global, JCDecaux and HYGH. Developed in 23 languages, the campaign will continue rolling out across additional European markets throughout the summer, alongside planned audio and video activations later this year.
The campaign builds on growing momentum across Europe to strengthen protections for children online.
Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director at 5Rights Foundation, said:
“Children are growing up in digital environments designed to maximise engagement, extract data and influence behaviour — often at the expense of their wellbeing and development. For too long, the burden of managing these risks has been placed on children and families themselves. This campaign is about shifting responsibility back where it belongs: onto the companies designing these systems and the lawmakers who regulate them. Children deserve technology that is safe by design.”
The campaign is the first initiative to emerge from EACA’s Campaign4Good programme, established by the organisation’s Young Board to encourage Europe’s creative industries to tackle urgent social issues through public-interest campaigns. Agencies participating in the initiative were challenged to imagine a digital future designed around children’s needs and rights, while raising awareness of the harms caused by exploitative design practices online.
Charley Stoney, CEO of EACA said,
“This campaign demonstrates the power of creativity to support meaningful social change. By bringing together agencies, young creatives and civil society, Campaign4Good shows how our industry can help spotlight the urgent need for a safer digital environment for children.”
The creative team behind the campaign — Mario Andric, Linda Neumann and Axel Fonteyne — said:
“We used the contrast between children’s handwriting and the harsh realities of the online world to visualise how incompatible many digital experiences are with childhood. Every image was hand-drawn to preserve the emotional honesty and vulnerability of children’s voices and perspectives.”
