Joint letter on children’s rights in the AI Act

EU AI Act must ensure all AI systems likely to be accessed by children respect their rights, say children’s organisations, parents and mental health professionals in joint open letter.

The EU’s draft Artificial Intelligence Act seeks to ensure AI systems that present an unacceptable level of risk to users do not access the EU market, and high risk systems submit to a robust authorisation process. To realise this objective, it must include specific provisions for children, recognising that children access a wide range of systems not intended for them, that the risks to their health, safety and development are distinct and higher than for adults, and that enforcement of protections for children requires a robust and proactive oversight process.

In this joint open letter to the EU co-legislators, 5Rights is joined by European networks for children’s rights, parents and mental health professionals in calling for amendments to the AI Act that will ensure automated decision-making systems are designed in a way that minimises risk and gives children the privacy, safety and security to which they are entitled.