At the 20th Internet Governance Forum in Lillestrøm, Norway, global leaders, technology firms, and child rights advocates gathered to address the growing risks children face from algorithm-driven digital platforms.
The high-level session, Ensuring Child Security in the Age of Algorithms, explored the impact of engagement-based algorithmic systems on children’s mental health, cultural identity, and digital well-being.
Shivanee Thapa, Senior News Editor at Nepal Television and moderator of the session, opened with a personal note on the urgency of the issue, calling it ‘too urgent, too complex, and too personal.’
She outlined the session’s three focus areas: identifying algorithmic risks, reimagining child-centred digital systems, and defining accountability for all stakeholders.
Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director of the Five Rights Foundation, delivered a powerful opening, sharing alarming data: ‘Half of children feel addicted to the internet, and more than three-quarters encounter disturbing content.’
She criticised tech platforms for prioritising engagement and profit over child safety, warning that children can stumble from harmless searches to harmful content in a matter of clicks.
‘The digital world is 100% human-engineered. It can be optimised for good just as easily as for bad,’ she said.
Norway is pushing for age limits on social media and implementing phone bans in classrooms, according to Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance Karianne Tung.
‘Children are not commodities,’ she said. ‘We must build platforms that respect their rights and wellbeing.’
Salima Bah, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, raised concerns about cultural erasure in algorithmic design. ‘These systems often fail to reflect African identities and values,’ she warned, noting that a significant portion of internet traffic in Sierra Leone flows through TikTok.
Bah emphasised the need for inclusive regulation that works for regions with different digital access levels.
From the European Commission, Thibaut Kleiner, Director for Future Networks at DG Connect, pointed to the Digital Services Act as a robust regulatory model.
He challenged the assumption of children as ‘digital natives’ and called for stronger age verification systems. ‘Children use apps but often don’t understand how they work — this makes them especially vulnerable,’ he said.
Representatives from major platforms described their approaches to online safety. Christine Grahn, Head of Public Policy at TikTok Europe, emphasised safety-by-design features such as private default settings for minors and the Global Youth Council.
‘We show up, we listen, and we act,’ she stated, describing TikTok’s ban on beauty filters that alter appearance as a response to youth feedback.
Emily Yu, Policy Senior Director at Roblox, discussed the platform’s Trust by Design programme and its global teen council.
‘We aim to innovate while keeping safety and privacy at the core,’ she said, noting that Roblox emphasises discoverability over personalised content for young users.
Thomas Davin, Director of Innovation at UNICEF, underscored the long-term health and societal costs of algorithmic harm, describing it as a public health crisis.
‘We are at risk of losing the concept of truth itself. Children increasingly believe what algorithms feed them,’ he warned, stressing the need for more research on screen time’s effect on neurodevelopment.
The panel agreed that protecting children online requires more than regulation alone. Co-regulation, international cooperation, and inclusion of children’s voices were cited as essential.
Davin called for partnerships that enable companies to innovate responsibly. At the same time, Grahn described a successful campaign in Sweden to help teens avoid criminal exploitation through cross-sector collaboration.
Tung concluded with a rallying message: ‘Looking back 10 or 20 years from now, I want to know I stood on the children’s side.’
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