Publications

Submission to the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ Consultation

Context 

The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) launched a major national consultation titled "Growing up in the online world". It explores further measures to protect children online, examining potential age restrictions on social media and algorithmic design features. This consultation also takes place within a broader international context, where governments across Europe and beyond are exploring measures to restrict or more tightly regulate children’s access to social media through a range of approaches. 

In parallel, international human rights bodies have emphasised the importance of ensuring that policy development in this area is grounded in human rights standards. This submission does not seek to address the full range of questions posed in the consultation document. Instead, it focuses on those areas where human rights standards and jurisprudence can most usefully inform policy development.


Summary recommendations/messages

The NIHRC recommends that the UK Government conducts a comprehensive human rights impact assessment of any proposal that restricts children’s access to social media platforms and the implementation of age assurance mechanisms. In particular, the assessment should consider:

• Article 10 ECHR (freedom of expression): whether the proposals are necessary and proportionate, including whether blanket restrictions on access to social media represent the least intrusive means available or whether less restrictive alternatives could achieve the same objective.

• Article 8 ECHR (right to private life): the impact of the proposals on children and young people’s private life, autonomy and development, as well as the privacy implications of age assurance mechanisms and associated data processing practices, including whether appropriate safeguards are in place.

• Article 14 ECHR (non-discrimination): whether the proposals may give rise to disproportionate impacts on particular groups of children and young people, including those who experience marginalisation, isolation, or barriers to participation in offline environments.

The NIHRC recommends that the UK Government carefully consider the General Principles that guide the interpretation of the UN CRC, including non-discrimination, the best interest of the child and the right to life, survival and development, in respect of any proposals to ban or severely restrict access to social media platforms. In particular, the UK Government should consider the child’s best interests as a paramount consideration and ensure transparency regarding how this principle has been assessed and how the criteria have been applied. 

The NIHRC recommends that the UK Government ensure that children’s evolving capacities are taken into account, particularly their age and maturity, when designing any measures within the digital environment.

The NIHRC recommends that, alongside any measures that restrict children’s access to social media platforms or some of their functionalities, the UK Government carefully considers introducing requirements or regulations for tech companies that address the human rights harm embedded in their business models. 

The NIHRC recommends that the UK Government carefully considers evaluating whether tech companies offering services and products to children should be subject to mandatory human rights due diligence, paying particular attention to the rights and needs of children, in line with the UNGPs. 

The NIHRC recommends that, alongside any measures that restrict children’s access to social media platforms or some of their functionalities, the UK Government carefully considers introducing requirements or regulations for tech companies that address the human rights harm embedded in their business models. 

The NIHRC recommends that the UK Government carefully considers evaluating whether tech companies offering services and products to children should be subject to mandatory human rights due diligence, paying particular attention to the rights and needs of children, in line with the UNGPs.