Spain leads international coalition on child safety and AI

Spain has launched the International Coalition for Children’s Rights and Protection in the Age of AI with a group of countries and international organisations.

The initiative was presented during the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva and is intended to ensure that AI respects children’s safety, healthy development and rights.

Spain said the coalition was promoted with support from France, Kenya and the EU.

Participating countries include Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, South Korea, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Morocco and the Netherlands.

UNICEF, UNESCO, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Telecommunication Union and the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies have also joined the coalition.

The coalition aims to coordinate action between governments, UN bodies, technology companies, civil society, child well-being experts and educators.

Signatories warned that rapid AI deployment is transforming the digital environments in which children learn, communicate and interact. They said AI can create opportunities, but can also amplify risks such as manipulation, harmful content, sexual deepfakes, AI-generated child sexual abuse material and algorithmic profiling of minors.

Coalition members are committed to promoting safe, reliable and trustworthy AI systems that respect children’s rights and include children’s views in the design, deployment and governance of AI systems that affect them.

Why does it matter?

The coalition places child protection at the heart of the emerging UN AI governance agenda. AI-related risks for children now include not only harmful content and cyberbullying, but also sexual deepfakes, AI-generated child sexual abuse material, manipulative algorithms and profiling of minors. A UN-based coalition could help align national approaches around safe-by-design systems, age-appropriate safeguards and children’s participation. However, its impact will depend on whether members move from declarations to practical standards and enforcement.

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