UN demands tech firms redesign platforms for child safety

The United Nations has called for urgent action to protect children online, urging states to hold tech companies accountable for harms caused by their design choices and business practices. UN rights chief Volker Turk stated on May 29 that online harms to children's safety, privacy, and wellbeing are not inevitable but result from specific features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and persistent notifications that platforms use to keep users engaged. Turk emphasized that tech giants must embed safety "by design" rather than shifting responsibility to parents and children, calling blanket social media bans inadequate solutions that can be easily circumvented and may push children toward riskier, less monitored platforms. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published ten guidelines titled "Getting Children's Safety Online Right," recommending that children's data receive maximum protection by default, commercial micro-targeting of minors based on digital records be prohibited, and platforms implement independent oversight with legal deterrents. Turk warned that focusing solely on age restrictions leaves unchanged the underlying designs and algorithms that make platforms unsafe, stating that "simply limiting access to platforms that remain unsafe cannot stand as the endpoint in effectively protecting children." The guidelines also noted that poorly implemented age verification could both fail at its goal and endanger the privacy of both children and adults. Scotland's Children and Young People's Commissioner Nicola Killean echoed concerns about ineffective bans in her submission to a UK Government consultation on social media harms affecting children. She stated that evidence supporting blanket bans for under-16s is "limited, mixed, and still emerging," arguing that such restrictions do little to address exploitative algorithms and business models driving harmful content. Killean warned that bans could disproportionately impact vulnerable groups including children in rural areas, those with family overseas, disabled children, and those who rely on online communities for identity support. The UK Government received over 81,000 responses to its consultation and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged swift action, stating that a "game-changer" approach is coming soon.