Children’s rights

Council of Europe issues new guidance on AI and gender equality

Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Council of Europe adopted two new recommendations addressing gender equality and the prevention of violence against women in the context of emerging technologies.

One recommendation targets the design and use of AI to prevent discrimination, while the other focuses on accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.

The AI recommendation advises member states on preventing discrimination throughout the lifecycle of AI systems, from development to deployment and retirement. It highlights risks like gender bias while promoting transparency, explainability, and safeguards.

Special attention is given to discrimination based on gender, race, and sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIESC).

The second recommendation sets the first international standard for addressing technology-facilitated violence against women. It outlines strategies to overcome impunity, including clearer legal frameworks, accessible reporting systems, and victim-centred approaches.

Emphasis is placed on multistakeholder engagement, trauma-informed policies, and safety-by-design in technology products to prevent digital harm.

Both recommendations reinforce the importance of combining regulation, institutional support, and public awareness to ensure technology advances equality rather than perpetuates harm.

The formal launch is scheduled for 10 June 2026 at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg during an event titled ‘From standards to action: making accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls a reality.’

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China expands oversight of youth online safety

China has introduced new measures to regulate online information that could affect the physical and mental health of minors. Authorities in China said the rules will take effect on 1 March and aim to improve protection for young internet users.

The regulators identified four categories of online information that may harm minors. The authorities have also addressed emerging risks linked to algorithmic recommendations and generative AI technologies.

The framework in China requires internet platforms and content creators to prevent and respond to harmful material. Regulators said companies must strengthen the monitoring and governance of content affecting minors.

Authorities said the measures are designed to create a cleaner online environment for children. Officials also stressed greater responsibility for platforms that manage digital content used by minors.

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OpenAI upgrades ChatGPT conversations with GPT-5.3 Instant

The most widely used ChatGPT model has received an update from OpenAI, introducing GPT-5.3 Instant to make everyday conversations more coherent, useful, and natural.

An upgrade that focuses on improving tone, contextual understanding, and the flow of dialogue rather than only benchmark performance.

One of the main improvements concerns how the model handles refusals and safety responses. Earlier versions sometimes declined questions that could have been answered safely or delivered overly cautious explanations before responding.

GPT-5.3 Instant instead gives more direct answers while still maintaining safety constraints, reducing interruptions that previously slowed conversations.

The update also improves the way ChatGPT uses information from the web. Instead of simply summarising search results or presenting long lists of links, the model now integrates online information with its own reasoning.

Such an approach aims to produce more relevant answers that highlight key insights at the beginning of responses.

Reliability has also improved. Internal evaluations conducted by OpenAI show reductions in hallucination rates across multiple domains.

When using web sources, hallucinations dropped by roughly 26.8 percent in higher-risk fields such as medicine, law, and finance. Improvements were also recorded when the model relied only on its internal knowledge.

Beyond factual accuracy, the model is designed to feel more natural in conversation. OpenAI says the system now avoids overly preachy language, unnecessary disclaimers, and intrusive remarks that previously disrupted dialogue.

The goal is a more consistent conversational personality across updates, while maintaining the familiar user experience of ChatGPT.

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EU citizens propose public social media network under new initiative

The European Commission has registered a European Citizens’ Initiative proposing the creation of a public social media platform operating at the European level, rather than relying exclusively on private technology companies.

An initiative titled the European Public Social Network calls for legislation establishing a publicly funded digital platform designed to serve societal interests.

Organisers argue that a publicly owned network could function independently from commercial incentives and political pressure while guaranteeing equal rights for users across the EU. The proposed platform would operate as a public service overseen by society rather than private corporations.

Registration confirms that the proposal meets the legal requirements of the European Citizens’ Initiative framework. The Commission has not yet assessed the substance of the idea, and registration does not imply support for the proposal.

Supporters must now gather 1 million signatures from citizens across at least 7 EU member states within 12 months. If the threshold is reached, the Commission will be required to formally examine the initiative and decide whether legislative action is appropriate.

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Australia reviews children’s social media ban

Australia has begun reviewing its ban on social media accounts for children under 16, introduced in December 2025. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is tracking more than 4,000 children and families to assess how the policy works in practice.

Researchers in Australia will analyse surveys, interviews and voluntary smartphone data to measure how young people interact with apps. Officials in Australia aim to understand how the ban affects children, parents and everyday online behaviour.

Early reactions in Australia have been mixed, with some teenagers telling media outlets they bypass age verification systems. Platforms reportedly remain accessible to some minors in Australia.

Meanwhile, the UK government has launched a public consultation on potential social media restrictions for children. Policymakers in the UK are seeking views on bans, stronger age verification and limits on addictive platform features.

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EU considers placing Roblox under strict Digital Services Act rules

European regulators are examining whether Roblox should fall under the Digital Services Act’s most stringent obligations rather than remain outside the bloc’s most demanding platform rules.

The European Commission began analysing the gaming platform’s reported user figures after the company disclosed roughly 48 million monthly users across the EU.

Numbers above the threshold could qualify Roblox as a Very Large Online Platform under the DSA. Such a designation would mark the first time a gaming platform enters the category alongside social media services already subject to heightened oversight.

Platforms receiving the label must conduct regular risk assessments, submit mitigation reports and demonstrate stronger safeguards for minors.

Regulatory pressure has already begun at the national level. The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets launched an investigation in January after concerns that children could encounter violent or sexually explicit content within Roblox games or interact with harmful actors through online features.

Designation at the EU level would transfer supervisory authority to the European Commission, enabling wider investigations and potential fines if violations occur. Officials are still verifying user data before making a formal decision, and no deadline has been announced for the process.

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Parliament deadlock leaves EU chat-scanning extension in doubt

The civil liberties committee failed to secure majority backing for its amended report on extending the EU’s temporary chat-scanning rules instead of giving a clear negotiating position.

Members of Parliament reviewed the amendments on Monday, but the final text did not garner sufficient support, leaving the proposal without endorsement as the adoption deadline approaches.

A proposal to extend the current derogation that allows tech companies to voluntarily scan their services for Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

The existing regime expires in April 2026 and was intended only as a stopgap while a permanent Child Sexual Abuse Regulation was developed. Years of stalled negotiations have led to the temporary rules being extended twice since 2021.

Council has already approved its position without changes to the Commission proposal, creating a tight timeline for Parliament.

With trilogue talks finally underway, institutions would need to conclude discussions unusually quickly to prevent the legal basis from expiring. If no agreement is reached by April, companies would lose their ability to scan services under the EU law.

The committee confirmed that the file will now move to plenary in the week of 9–12 March, where political groups may table new amendments. An outcome that will determine whether the temporary regime remains in place while negotiations on the permanent system continue.

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Europe pressed to slow digital age-verification push amid privacy fears

Hundreds of academics urged governments to halt plans for mandatory age checks on social media, rather than accelerating deployment without assessing the risks.

The warning arrives as several European states consider restrictions on children’s access to online platforms and as companies promote verification tools such as live selfies or uploads of government-issued IDs.

Researchers argue that current systems expose people to privacy breaches, security vulnerabilities and malicious sites that ignore verification rules instead of offering meaningful protection.

They say scientific consensus has not yet formed on the benefits or harms of age-assurance technologies, making large-scale implementation premature and potentially discriminatory.

The letter stresses that any credible system would require cryptographic safeguards for every query, protecting data in transit rather than leaving identity checks to platforms without robust technical guarantees.

Academics believe such infrastructure would be complex to build globally and would create friction that many providers may refuse to adopt.

Concern escalated after early deployments in Italy and France, where verification is already mandatory.

Signatories, including Ronald Rivest and Bart Preneel, warn that governments risk introducing a socially unacceptable system that increases exposure to data misuse instead of ensuring children’s safety online.

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EU pressures Meta over alleged smart glasses privacy breaches

Lawmakers in the European Parliament are pressing the European Commission for clarity after reports that Meta’s smart glasses recorded people in intimate moments without their knowledge.

Concerns intensified when Swedish outlets reported that Ray-Ban AI glasses captured and uploaded sensitive footage in violation of strict consent requirements under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

The reports indicate that personal data from EU users was sent to Sama, a third-party contractor, in Kenya for human review. Annotators working there said they viewed images of individuals changing clothes and believed the recordings were taken without consent.

They added that Meta’s attempts to blur faces or apply other safeguards failed often enough to expose identifiable material instead of ensuring proper anonymisation.

EU privacy law requires clear information and consent before collecting and processing personal data, and additional safeguards when exporting data to countries without recognised adequacy status.

Kenya is still negotiating such recognition with the Commission, meaning contractual protections would be necessary.

The Irish Data Protection Commission, responsible for Meta’s GDPR oversight, has been contacted amid questions about whether Meta complied with EU requirements.

Lawmakers also want the Commission to examine whether proposed changes in the Digital Omnibus package could dilute privacy protections rather than strengthen them.

Critics argue the reforms might ease data-use rules for AI training at a moment when allegations about Meta’s smart glasses have intensified scrutiny of the EU’s broader digital policy agenda.

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UK launches consultation on possible social media ban for under-16s

Britain has opened a public consultation examining whether children under 16 should face restrictions or a potential ban on social media use. Young people, parents and educators are being invited to share views before ministers decide on future policy.

Officials are considering several options beyond a full ban, including disabling addictive platform features, introducing overnight curfews, regulating access to AI chatbots, and tightening age verification rules. Pilot schemes will test proposed measures to gather practical evidence on their effectiveness.

The debate follows international momentum after Australia introduced restrictions on under-16 access to major platforms, with Spain signalling similar intentions. Political parties, charities and campaigners remain divided over whether bans or stronger safety regulations offer better protection.

Children’s organisations warn blanket prohibitions could push young users towards less regulated online spaces, creating a ‘false sense of security’. Researchers and policymakers instead emphasise improving platform safety standards while allowing young people to socialise and express themselves online responsibly.

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