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Keep up to date with the latest development on data protection, children’s rights in the digital environment and more with our news articles and press releases.

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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech from behind a wooden podium adorned with the royal coat of arms. The setting features two large British flags in the background and a formal interior with wooden paneling.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • Online Harms
  • United Kingdom

5Rights and Children’s Coalition urge PM to protect online safety in UK-US trade talks

More than 20 child safety organisations and bereaved families urge UK PM to protect the Online Safety Act amid fears it could be weakened in UK–US trade negotiations.
A conference room. On two projector screens is a video testimony from a young Ghanaian person. Sitting on tables in the foreground, facing away from the camera and looking towards the screen is three African children.
  • News
  • AI
  • Child Rights
  • Africa

5Rights and partners organise first Children’s Global AI Summit on Africa

Children from across the continent assembled for the Children’s Global AI Summit in Kigali, Rwanda convened by 5Rights and partners.
  • Press Release
  • AI
  • Global

Reclaiming AI for the next generation: 5Rights unveils Children & AI Design Code 

5Rights unveils the Children & AI Design Code, a bold framework ensuring AI prioritises children’s rights, safety, and wellbeing in design and deployment.
A mixed raced teen boy has back turned to the camera, with his left hand raised in the area. He is wearing a light mint green polo. He appears to be in a learning environment, like a school. In between the camera and the room is a glass pane that has a speech mark icon in a light gray colour, with "AI" in the middle.
  • News
  • AI
  • European Union

AI systems that exploit the vulnerabilities of children are now illegal in the EU

Article 5 of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act is a true milestone, but more is required to protect children’s rights and needs by design and default.
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A wider shot of the same teenage girl seated comfortably on a couch at home. She is wearing a rust-orange sweatshirt, light blue ripped jeans, and white over-ear headphones, focused on her laptop. A yellow knitted blanket and blue wall add to the cozy setting. This image is a fuller version of the close-up shown above on the same page.
  • News
  • Online Harms
  • United Kingdom

UK’s online safety regulator launches first investigation under Online Safety Act 

Ofcom begins first Online Safety Act investigation into suicide forum. 5Rights urges firm action to protect children and calls for strong enforcement against harmful online services.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech from behind a wooden podium adorned with the royal coat of arms. The setting features two large British flags in the background and a formal interior with wooden paneling.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • Online Harms
  • United Kingdom

5Rights and Children’s Coalition urge PM to protect online safety in UK-US trade talks

More than 20 child safety organisations and bereaved families urge UK PM to protect the Online Safety Act amid fears it could be weakened in UK–US trade negotiations.
A classroom setting with a group of children engaging with digital technology. Two girls sit at a table in the foreground; one in a plaid shirt is holding a smartphone with a red cover, while the other in a white jacket is focused on her own smartphone. The table has school supplies, including a notebook and markers. In the background, three boys are sitting on a desk, interacting with tablets and smartphones. The scene is well-lit, with natural light streaming through large windows.
  • News
  • Online Harms
  • Services
  • United Kingdom

UK Online Safety Act takes effect as tech industry keeps shifting blame to parents 

As the Illegal Harms Code of Practice enters into force, 5Rights urges Ofcom to begin robust enforcement and hold tech firms accountable.
Schoolboy looking at the laptop of his classmate while sitting in a classroom with other pupils during a lesson. His classmate's face is in the top left corner in the foreground of the image but blurred, as the camera is focused on the schoolboy looking at his laptop.
  • AI
  • Child Rights
  • United Kingdom

UK Government’s AI ‘free for all’ harms children’s intellectual property

Proposed changes to UK copyright law leave children’s intellectual property vulnerable to exploitation from AI companies– if children can’t copy homework, why can AI copy them?
TikTok, Reddit and Imgur investigated for UK Age Appropriate Design Code breach
  • Child Rights
  • Data Protection
  • United Kingdom

TikTok, Reddit and Imgur investigated for UK Age Appropriate Design Code breach

The UK’s data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has launched investigations under the Age Appropriate Design Code– marking a positive step forward for children’s data protection, but more is needed.
A young black girl on a laptop. She is smiling and waves at the laptop in front of her, which suggests she is on a video call.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • Data Protection
  • United Kingdom

In a major win for 5Rights, the UK Government has introduced a legal requirement for online services to consider children’s rights and needs when processing their data, by design and default. This move emboldens the Age Appropriate Design Code, strengthening protections to children’s data.
5Rights welcomes landmark UK legislation to protect children from online predators  
  • Press Release
  • AI
  • Sexual Exploitation
  • United Kingdom

5Rights welcomes landmark UK legislation to protect children from online predators  

The UK becomes the world’s first country to criminalise tools used to create AI-generated child sexual abuse material as part of four new measures to take on online predators.
UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan overlooks risks and potential for children
  • News
  • AI
  • United Kingdom

UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan overlooks risks and potential for children

The UK Government has set a key marker of its plans for full-scale adoption of AI into the economy, making clear its intention to see its use scaled in education. Children must be a part of the conversation on the adoption of AI into services they have no choice but to use, with consideration of the opportunities and risks it poses.
Close-up of a young person on a smartphone that displays the Instagram logo, a simplistic outline of a camera, with the words "from Meta" underneath. The background is blurred.
  • Press Release
  • Sexual Exploitation
  • United Kingdom

Meta continues to ignore the prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) hosted and promoted on Instagram. So, we have urged Ofcom and the ICO to take action.
A close-up of a black child typing on a laptop. You can only see their hands typing on the keyboard, with the laptop resting on their lap. They appear to be sitting next to others.
  • News
  • Online Harms
  • United Kingdom

Holes not fixed: UK regulator publishes final proposals for tackling illegal harm online

Ofcom has published its final proposal for the Illegal Harms Code, and in its current iteration, it will fail to utilise the Online Safety Act to best protect children online.
A close-up of a little boy in a teal hoodie on a laptop. He is lent over a yellow desk and has his left thumb resting on the trackpad, seemingly navigating the laptop. He is wide-eyed and very engaged.
  • News
  • Child Rights
  • United Kingdom

Win for children: UK make safety by design a strategic priority

The UK Government has announced new statutory strategic priorities on the enforcement of the Online Safety Act, instructing Ofcom to enforce safety by design. A big step for children’s safety on World Children’s Day.
A wider view of a laptop with hands typing, surrounded by floating digital icons representing AI, cloud, education, and data analytics. The icons are part of a digital overlay against a connected network background, emphasizing themes of digital regulation, technology, and online interaction. This image is a broader view, capturing the context of the close-up shown above on the same page.
  • News
  • AI
  • Child Rights
  • United Kingdom

UK regulators must unite to close gaps in digital regulations 

UK regulators must close gaps in digital regulations to protect children online, focusing on risks from EdTech and AI while fostering a harmonised, clear and coherent approach to digital regulation.