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Advocating for systemic change 

5Rights has a unique track record of shaping policies, regulations and tools that ensure the digital world is built for children and young people, by design and default.

A strong global framework 

5Rights played a pivotal role in the development of General comment No. 25, which sets out how the Convention on the Rights of the Child applies in the digital environment. Leading broad coalitions and working directly with policy-makers, we shape numerous global and regional multilateral legal and political frameworks, strategies and tools to implement robust and consistent global norms. 

Enforceable regulation

5Rights has worked with legislators and regulators around the world to develop, pass and implement comprehensive protections for children’s privacy and safety online. The groundbreaking UK Age Appropriate Design Code has inspired similar legislation from Jakarta to California, while its core principles have been integrated in broader laws with global impact such as the EU’s Digital Services Act and AI Act. 

Institutional capacity-building

To support systemic, exponential and sustainable change, 5Rights invests heavily in capacity-building, supporting government institutions as well as civil society around the world, and in particular in the Global South. 

Our work around the world

5Rights is globally active. In addition to our US, UK, Europe and Global Multilateral programmes, we run projects across Asia, Africa, Latin and North America.

United Kingdom

The UK, where 5Rights was founded, has pioneered digital regulation for children. With the world’s first enforceable Age Appropriate Design Code signed into law in 2020, complemented by the Online Safety Act in 2023, it is a key testing ground for policy innovation, and implementation.

European Union

The EU is a global normative and regulatory powerhouse. Its data protection regulation, the GDPR, underpins the Age Appropriate Design Code, whereas the Digital Services Act and AI Act have the potential to fundamentally reshape digital design norms for children.

United States

American companies created the internet as children know it today, and the US still hosts many of the world’s most innovative and powerful tech companies. Strengthening US regulation and working with the country’s dynamic industry ecosystem are critical to driving change for children everywhere.

Global

Children everywhere use the same tech, face the same problems, and have the same rights. A global, equitable, solution is needed. From the UN to the African Union, from Jackarta to Buenos Aires and Ottawa, a coherent body of global standards and best practices is taking shape with our support.

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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.

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).

Greek Prime Minister urges EU regulatory action against algorithmic 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”.