The enormous potential of technology will only be realised when it is designed with children and young people in mind. 

The widespread failure of technologies today to anticipate the presence, rights and needs of children and young people, leaves them systemically exposed to risk and severely limits the potential of digital technology as a positive force in their lives. 

A fundamental shift is required to make safety a core element of technology design rather than an afterthought. This reset involves thoughtful planning, rigorous safety standards, and a focus on long-term impact over short-term gains.  

Companies must design digital services that cater for vulnerabilities, needs, and rights of children and young people by default. To fulfil their potential, digital technologies must be directed towards children and young people’s flourishing. Retrofitting safety features into a service only after under 18 year olds have experienced harm or allowing their rights to be routinely undermined is simply not good enough. 

Crucially, this principle of advanced consideration must apply to all the digital services that children  and young people are likely to access in reality, not just those services that are specifically targeted at them.  

Meeting the needs of childhood development or delivering on children’s rights is not optional. Governments and policymakers need to prioritise the development of robust standards for the design and development of digital technology, and regulate to require that children’s safety, rights, and privacy are upheld – by design and default. 

Only when we treat children’s data with the utmost care, design products and services in a way that anticipates their presence, and observe the full range of their protection and participation rights will we have built the digital world that young people deserve.