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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 Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis (left), in conversation with 5Rights’ President, Baroness Beeban Kidron (centre), at the global forum on AI in Athens. The conversation was moderated by 5Rights’ trustee and Strategic Advisor for IEEE, Doctor Konstantinos Karachalios (right).
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • European Union

Greek Prime Minister urges EU regulatory action againsalgorithmic exploitation of children

In conversation with 5Rights’ President Baroness Kidron at the global forum on AI in Athens, Prime Minister Mitsotakis denounced the tech sector’s “unprecedented global experiment with the mental health of our children”.
A smartphone screen showing the Google Play and App Store icons side by side on a red-orange gradient background.
  • Press Release
  • Data Protection
  • Gaming
  • United Kingdom

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.
Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director of 5Rights Foundation, delivers the opening remarks at a high-level ministerial panel during the 2025 UN Internet Governance Forum in Norway. She stands at the podium beneath the IGF and UN insignia.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • United Nations

5Rights urges world leaders and tech firms to stand up for children at UN Internet Governance Forum

Opening the UN Internet Governance Forum’s ministerial panel on children’s online safety, 5Rights Executive Director Leanda Barrington-Leach challenged all stakeholders to face up to the reality of children’s current experience, and take bold action to reshape digital design.  
A wider view of a person sitting at a desk using a laptop, with the IEEE Standards Association website visible on the screen. The workspace includes a wooden table, a cup, and a plant in the softly lit background.
  • News
  • Age-Assurance
  • Global

Age checking systems can now be certified against 5Rights-led technical standard

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ new certification on age assurance is built on the 2089.1 standard, co-developed by 5Rights Foundation as part of a broader set of standards grounded in 5Rights principles. 
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The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis (left), in conversation with 5Rights’ President, Baroness Beeban Kidron (centre), at the global forum on AI in Athens. The conversation was moderated by 5Rights’ trustee and Strategic Advisor for IEEE, Doctor Konstantinos Karachalios (right).
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • European Union

Greek Prime Minister urges EU regulatory action againsalgorithmic exploitation of children

In conversation with 5Rights’ President Baroness Kidron at the global forum on AI in Athens, Prime Minister Mitsotakis denounced the tech sector’s “unprecedented global experiment with the mental health of our children”.
Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director of 5Rights Foundation, delivers the opening remarks at a high-level ministerial panel during the 2025 UN Internet Governance Forum in Norway. She stands at the podium beneath the IGF and UN insignia.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • United Nations

5Rights urges world leaders and tech firms to stand up for children at UN Internet Governance Forum

Opening the UN Internet Governance Forum’s ministerial panel on children’s online safety, 5Rights Executive Director Leanda Barrington-Leach challenged all stakeholders to face up to the reality of children’s current experience, and take bold action to reshape digital design.  
A wider view showing a row of European Union flags in front of a modern, glass-fronted office building with a curved facade. The flags are aligned in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • European Union

EU guidelines map to 5Rights’ baseline, paving the way for overhaul of tech design for kids

5Rights welcomes the European Commission’s draft guidelines on Article 28 of the Digital Services Act – a recognition of our long-standing commitment to place children’s rights at the heart of platform responsibility and system design.
CPDP.ai 2025: Delivering on children’s rights, an opportunity for all? 
  • Events
  • Child Rights
  • Global

CPDP.ai 2025: Delivering on children’s rights, an opportunity for all? 

Four leading experts take us through whether the EU can show a way forward in the pursuit of children’s rights in the digital environment. Join 5Rights at this year’s CPDP conference.
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.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • United Kingdom

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.
Baroness Beeban Kidron stands on a stage at the UN STI Forum, holding a microphone while addressing the audience. She wears a brown cardigan and long skirt. This is a wide shot of the picture shown above.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • United Nations

“A different digital settlement for children” – implementation must follow Global Digital Compact commitments 

From the floor of the UN STI Forum, Baroness Beeban Kidron urged world leaders to build on the Global Digital Compact and renew their commitment to a digital future that works for children.
A siloheutte of a hand holding a smartphone horizontally in the foreground. It displays red text, 'Ofcom'. In the background, an out-of-focus monitor displays the Ofcom webiste.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • Online Harms
  • United Kingdom

UK’s regulator Ofcom launches the country’s first Children’s Online Safety Code

The launch of the first Code marks a significant development in creating a safe digital environment for children, but, it’s not job done.
A vivid yellow sign from Elections Canada, displaying a maple leaf and bold black writing, signals a Canadian election voting site.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • Canada

Canadian elections: a defining moment to hold tech accountable for children’s rights 

Next Monday, Canadians will be heading to the polling station, setting the course for the future of Canadian children’s rights in the digital world.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech from behind a wooden podium adorned with the royal coat of arms. The setting features two large British flags in the background and a formal interior with wooden paneling.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • Online Harms
  • United Kingdom

5Rights and Children’s Coalition urge PM to protect online safety in UK-US trade talks

More than 20 child safety organisations and bereaved families urge UK PM to protect the Online Safety Act amid fears it could be weakened in UK–US trade negotiations.
A conference room. On two projector screens is a video testimony from a young Ghanaian person. Sitting on tables in the foreground, facing away from the camera and looking towards the screen is three African children.
  • News
  • AI
  • Child Rights
  • Africa

5Rights and partners organise first Children’s Global AI Summit on Africa

Children from across the continent assembled for the Children’s Global AI Summit in Kigali, Rwanda convened by 5Rights and partners.
A young Asian boy on a laptop sat on a desk outside (you can see large foliage in the background that suggests this is in Southeast Asia). The camera is positioned so you can see the face of the boy looking at the laptop as he types. He looks inquisitive.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • Asia

Indonesia becomes first Global South country to adopt binding regulation for age-appropriate design

Indonesia passes Southeast Asia’s first binding regulation to protect children online, banning profiling and strengthening data protections.
Schoolboy looking at the laptop of his classmate while sitting in a classroom with other pupils during a lesson. His classmate's face is in the top left corner in the foreground of the image but blurred, as the camera is focused on the schoolboy looking at his laptop.
  • AI
  • Child Rights
  • United Kingdom

UK Government’s AI ‘free for all’ harms children’s intellectual property

Proposed changes to UK copyright law leave children’s intellectual property vulnerable to exploitation from AI companies– if children can’t copy homework, why can AI copy them?