UN warns age bans insufficient for online child safety

Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has issued an urgent call for governments and technology companies to prioritise the safety of children on digital platforms. In a statement released on Friday, Turk emphasised that enhancing online protection must be treated as a critical priority, demanding coordinated action to ensure platforms are safer by design and that those responsible for harm are held accountable.

Alongside the statement, the UN human rights office published guidelines recommending robust age verification safeguards, mandatory child rights impact assessments, and the active involvement of children in the design of regulatory responses. Turk stressed that regulations must protect children’s rights and needs throughout the process, while avoiding measures that inadvertently cause further harm.

The UN chief warned that poorly implemented age verification could fail to protect minors while simultaneously compromising the privacy of both children and adults. He cautioned that focusing solely on user age risks ignoring the underlying platform design and algorithmic practices that create unsafe environments in the first place.

This intervention coincides with a global surge in age-based social media restrictions. Following Australia’s adoption of legislation in December 2025 restricting access for children under 16, Indonesia and Malaysia have introduced similar measures. Across Europe, several nations are advancing their own bans, including Austria’s plan for children under 14, and proposed restrictions in Denmark, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

However, experts argue that legislative bans alone are inadequate. Chris Sherwood, chief executive of Britain’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, has urged governments to require technology companies to block harmful content at the source and eliminate design features that keep teenagers engaged. Sherwood called for tighter regulation on content moderation and platform architecture to effectively mitigate harm.