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Keep up to date with the latest development on data protection, children’s rights in the digital environment and more with our news articles and press releases.

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The UK’s Online Safety Act Turns Two: What’s changed for children?

The UK’s Online Safety Act Turns Two: What’s changed for children?

As the landmark legislation reaches a milestone, 5Rights examine progress, challenges and what comes next for children’s rights online.

school boy using digital tablet at class in classroom. Attentive junior school student learning online virtual education digital program app tech during stem computer science lesson.

5Rights and the LSE’S Digital Futures for Children Centre drives transformation in EdTech to protect children’s rights

New project drives urgent national conversation on whether technology used in the classrooms is meeting children’s right to education.

Classroom AI apps expose children to porn site trackers and give UK students wrong US helplines, new report reveals

Classroom AI apps expose children to porn site trackers and give UK students wrong US helplines, new report reveals

Children using well-known AI-powered apps in classrooms, such as Grammarly, Character.AI and others, are being tracked by adult website advertisers, given dangerous misinformation about self-harm and taught false facts, according to new research carried out by LSE and 5Rights Foundation’s Digital Futures for Children centre.

UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code: four years of global impact before key review

UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code: four years of global impact before key review

As the UK’s pioneering children’s data protection code inspires global change, the upcoming review of the Code presents an opportunity to build on this success and tackle the risks children face and want to be addressed.

teenage boy sitting on stairs upset with a phone in hand.

Why children need the Online Safety Act: protecting children in a digital wild west 

With online grooming crimes in the UK surging 89% and a quarter of children exposed to pornography by age 11, now is not the time to take a step back on online safety.

young women with head in hands, upset.

New research reveals how children face financial harm online

New study published by the UK regulator Ofcom reinforces the urgent need for effective regulation of loot boxes, in-app purchases and other persuasive design strategies that exploit children’s vulnerabilities and drive them to spend money online.

Little girl using laptop at home. icon of internet blocking app on foreground

5Rights UK Youth Ambassadors celebrate new online safety laws and call for the next chapter in building a better digital world

From today, it is illegal in the UK for tech companies to allow children access to pornography and expose them to other harmful content in their recommender feeds. 5Rights spoke to its UK Youth Ambassadors about the changes and their vision for what must come next.

A laptop is being used with symbols highlighted, including an AI icon and a trophy icon. A child is working on something in background

Inquiry finds UK Government must regulate GenAI and close online safety loopholes

The UK Parliament’s Science, Innovation and Technology Committee urges the Government to regulate generative AI tools and close critical gaps in online safety regulation, echoing calls from 5Rights and civil society.

A classroom of young students working on desktop computers, with educational software visible on the screens. A boy in a striped shirt and a girl in a yellow top are prominently shown, deeply engaged in a digital activity. A teacher stands in the background, observing the class.

New UK data law: what does it mean for children’s privacy?

The new UK data law introduces significant changes in children’s data protection, including new codes of practice for EdTech, AI and automated decision-making, following years of advocacy by 5Rights.

A smartphone screen showing the Google Play and App Store icons side by side on a red-orange gradient background.

Apple and Google expose children to data privacy breaches through misleading app age ratings

Hundreds of the most popular apps are being advertised with misleading age-ratings in Apple and Google’s app stores, leaving children in “the firing line” of targeted ads and unlawful data processing.

A wider shot showing both hands gripping a white video game controller, focused on a television screen with a blue-green blurred gaming scene in the background.

Research reveals “non-existent” enforcement of industry-led standards on loot boxes

New findings reinforce longstanding concerns from 5Rights about the inadequacy of industry self-regulation in protecting children from exploitative in-game purchases.

A wider shot showing a child in a yellow-and-white striped shirt and light blue jeans sitting outdoors, intently looking at and using a smartphone with both hands.

UK Government sets unambiguous direction for a safer online world 

5Rights welcomes the UK Government’s final Statement of Strategic Priorities, confirming safety by design as a cornerstone of tech regulation. However, more must be done to deliver on the Online Safety Act’s promises.