Contracting Authority: European Committee of the Regions (CoR)
Period: 2025-2026
URL: Youth protection in the digital sphere
Description:
Society’s digital transformation has brought about profound changes in the lives of youth, including minors. In 2024, the number of youth who use the internet on a daily basis across the European Union’s Member States ranged from 93% to 100%, averaging at 97%. Online tools now mediate core dimensions of growing up – from learning, socialising and civic participation to access to culture and support services – and can expand opportunities for inclusion, creativity and voice, particularly for those in remote or disadvantaged areas. At the same time, they expose minors to a distinctive set of risks that are highly relevant to this study’s policy focus, including cyberbullying and online abuse, exposure to harmful or manipulative content, sexual exploitation and grooming, privacy violations and misuse of personal data, online radicalisation, and patterns of problematic or addictive use that can deepen existing digital and social divides. The urgency to protect minors in the digital sphere is underscored by recent trends, such as a sharp rise in problematic social media use, and the emergence of new technologies such as generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI) and immersive virtual environments (e.g., the metaverse, virtual and augmented reality). The Special Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade 2025 reveals a strong consensus amongst Europeans on the need for urgent action to protect minors online. The negative impact of social media on children’s mental health is perceived as the most pressing concern, with 93% of respondents calling for public intervention and 67% describing it as very urgent. Similar levels of concern are expressed regarding cyberbullying, online harassment, and access to age-inappropriate content. This widespread sense of urgency highlights a gap between the rapid pace of digital innovation and the adequacy of existing safeguards for young users.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ratified by all EU Member States, provides the international framework for the protection of the rights of minors, including in the digital sphere. It provides that the best interests of the child must represent a priority in all actions concerning them (Article 3). The Convention also guarantees minors’ rights to protection against all forms of violence (Article 19), access to information from diverse sources (Article 17), freedom of expression (Article 12), and the right to privacy (Article 16). These rights apply equally online and offline. In 2021, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child elaborated on these issues in General Comment No. 255, which explicitly interprets how minors’ rights apply in the digital sphere. It calls on States to take legislative, policy and educational measures to ensure protection, while fostering inclusion, digital and media literacy, digital citizenship skills and freedom of expression. These principles are reflected at EU level in the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee (2021). This document states that the rights of minors must be protected and promoted across all policy areas, including digital policy. One of its six thematic areas specifically addresses the digital and information context, calling for action to ensure that minors can safely access and navigate digital environments. The strategy calls for child-friendly online services, age-appropriate design, and stronger safeguards against online harm, aligned with the UNCRC’s ‘best interests’ principle. The Better Internet for Kids Plus Strategy (BIK+, 2022) provides a dedicated framework for promoting a safer and more inclusive digital environment for minors. It encourages measures such as age-appropriate design, enhanced parental controls, and effective reporting tools for online harm. BIK+ complements the broader strategy on the rights of minors by focusing specifically on digital empowerment, safety, and participation.
In EU legislation, these international and strategic principles are put in place through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). These frameworks are gradually establishing a more child-sensitive digital regulatory environment. However, challenges remain in terms of their enforcement and harmonisation, as well as the inclusion of the perspectives of minors.
Within this framework, local and regional public authorities (LRAs) are key actors in translating high-level obligations into concrete measures at community level. They contribute to the design and coordination of multi-level interventions, but often operate with limited staff capacity, constrained budgets and insufficient access to technical expertise. To respond effectively to online harms affecting minors, LRAs need to ensure regular, high-quality training for frontline professionals, such as educators, social workers and law enforcement officers, to help them recognise early warning signs and emerging patterns of online abuse. This would strengthen their ability to understand and interpret rapidly evolving digital environments where risks to the wellbeing of minors may emerge. LRAs may also face institutional, informational, and coordination barriers that limit their ability to respond effectively. Unequal quality and access to digital infrastructure across regions may also impact, and further exacerbate, inequalities in minors’ protection and digital literacy. At the same time, LRAs are uniquely positioned to contribute valuable insights, and their perspectives should be considered to ensure a coherent and equitable approach to digital safety, tailoring interventions to place-based needs and coordinating multi-level responses across communities.
The present study aims to explore the current EU legal and policy framework, models and practices across Member States, the role of LRAs, as well as key emerging trends. In doing so, it aims to support the work of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on the topic.