New Delhi. A new report has called for a national policy to regulate children’s use of digital media in order to protect them from growing online risks. It recommends legal restrictions on smartphone use in schools, age-based limits for online services and stronger safeguards for digital features targeting children. The report argues that protecting children online can no longer depend solely on voluntary rules adopted by digital platforms and should instead be treated as a legal responsibility of the state.
The report, titled ‘Prevention by Design: From Voluntary Self-Regulation to a State Duty of Care’, was released at a side event of the United Nations General Assembly. The study calls for preventive measures to protect children online to be incorporated at the design stage of digital platforms. According to the report, relying only on companies to regulate themselves is not sufficient to protect children from potential online harm.
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The report recommends a clear legal ban on smartphone use in schools during primary and lower-secondary education. It calls for a ‘bright-line ban’, meaning a clearly defined restriction that leaves little ambiguity about when and where smartphones can be used. According to the report, such restrictions on smartphones in schools are already in place in 52 countries.
The report also recommends an age-based framework for children’s online activities. It suggests banning social media accounts for children below the age of 15. For teenagers aged 15 to 16, it recommends allowing access to social media only under parental supervision. The report argues that digital safeguards should take into account the different needs and risks associated with different age groups.
The legal status of digital contracts involving minors has also been raised in the report. Bhuvan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children, said that digital contracts entered into by children below the age of 18 are legally invalid. His statement has been presented in the broader context of the legal debate surrounding children’s access to online services and their relationship with digital platforms.
Five-Tier Safety Framework Suggested
The report proposes a five-tier framework for children’s digital safety. Along with controlling social media access based on age, it recommends restricting targeted advertising directed at minors. It also calls for disabling features designed to keep users engaged on digital platforms for extended periods.
These include ‘infinite scrolling’ and other potentially addictive features. The report recommends that digital services designed for children should avoid features that encourage users to continuously consume content or repeatedly return to a platform.
The report also stresses the need to develop a digital identity system that protects children’s privacy. It calls for a system that can verify a user’s age without requiring unnecessary disclosure of personal information. The objective is to enforce age-based safety rules while protecting children’s privacy.
The report further recommends establishing an independent regulatory authority to monitor digital platforms. It also calls for financial penalties against companies that violate the proposed rules. According to the report, effective child protection online would require clearly defined legal responsibilities, independent oversight and accountability for violations.
The proposed framework seeks to make digital services safer for children while balancing technological development with child protection. Its recommendations cover smartphone use in schools, age-based access to social media, targeted advertising, platform design, privacy-preserving digital identification and regulatory oversight. The report places particular emphasis on moving from voluntary self-regulation by technology platforms toward a system in which governments and regulators have clearly defined responsibilities for protecting children in the digital environment.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
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