Better Internet for Kids

Here, we take an in-depth look at the latest monitoring information for Romania.   

According to the Digital Decade 2025: Country reports, Romania has a very strong fixed connectivity infrastructure and a notable gender balance in the tech sector, though it continues to grapple with low levels of advanced technology adoption and basic digital literacy. The country is a European leader in high-speed internet, with Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) coverage reaching 95.7% and Very High-Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage at 95.9%, both significantly outperforming EU averages. Despite this, 5G coverage is still lagging at 46.8%. The digital economy shows a narrowing gap in basic digital intensity among SMEs (69.1%), but the integration of advanced tools like AI, cloud computing, and data analytics remains among the lowest in the EU at just 28.7%. A strength is the participation of women in the ICT sector, where they represent 26% of specialists – well above the European average – even as the overall share of ICT specialists in the workforce remains stagnant at 2.8%. In terms of digital skills, just 30.1% of the population reported possessing basic digital skills, the lowest in the EU, and a significant 33-percentage-point gap between urban and rural areas. According to the State of the Digital Decade Eurobarometer 2025, public sentiment reflects an urgent demand for digital safety, with 83% of citizens prioritising protecting children from cyberbullying and harmful content.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on key national policy frameworks in Romania.

Read the full 2026 edition of the Policy monitor report.

BIK policies

This concerns how national-level policies relevant to the BIK agenda are organised, managed, and supported by evidence and stakeholder input.

Policy frameworks

Policy frameworks describe the overarching goals that shape policies for a better internet for kids. 

In Romania:  

• This topic is an important and emerging policy priority partially covered in national/regional laws, regulations and policies.
• There are separate, dedicated policies which address the topic of children and the digital environment (protection, empowerment, and participation).
• The BIK+ strategy is an important influence on policy development on children and the digital environment.
• Children’s rights in the digital environment are implied rather than explicitly recognised in policies regarding children and the digital environment. 

Policy design

Policy design asks whether evidence and research support BIK-related policies and whether systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating those policies.

In Romania:  

• There is no data collection on children’s digital activity at the country level.
• Surveys of children’s experiences of risks, harms and digital well-being are undertaken on an ad-hoc and irregular basis. 
• Information is regularly gathered to inform policies on children and the digital environment. However, this relies primarily on third-party sources, and there are limited opportunities to commission new data on children's digital activity. 
• Existing regular national research funding is available for research on children and the digital environment, but this is not explicitly specified.  
• Policies are regularly monitored and evaluated, but not always systematically.

Policy governance

Policy governance examines how policies are coordinated at the governmental level, whether other implementation bodies are involved in their delivery and coordination.

In Romania:  

• Policy development sits across different ministries with leadership officially distributed according to the area of specialisation.
• Policy coordination and implementation are spread across multiple entities without a clear central coordination mandate or mechanism. 
• There is a defined national action plan on children and the digital environment with accountabilities such as defined timelines, assigned responsibilities or key performance indicators (KPIs). 

Stakeholder involvement

Stakeholder involvement enquires how different stakeholders can participate in policy development.

In Romania:  

• Stakeholder participation in policy discussion and development is infrequent or informal. Opportunities to contribute exist occasionally but lack regularity, transparency, or meaningful impact on decision-making.
• There are no formal mechanisms or practices for consulting the public on BIK topics. 
• Children are listened to directly in the policy development process (for example, through hearings, consultations, specific surveys) but are not formally involved in decision-making.

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on key national policy frameworks in Romania.

Read the full 2026 edition of the Policy monitor report.

BIK+ actions

Pillar 1 – safe digital experiences

Safe digital experiences refer to actions taken to protect children from harmful and illegal online content, conduct, contact, and risks as young consumers and to improve their well-being online through a safe, age-appropriate digital environment created in a way that respects children’s best interests

Table 1: Safe digital experiences – Romania

Pillar 2 – Digital empowerment

Digital empowerment involves actions that ensure all children, including those in vulnerable situations, acquire the necessary skills and competences to make sound choices and to express themselves safely and responsibly in the online environment.

Table 2: Digital empowerment – Romania

Pillar 3 – Active participation, respecting children’s rights

This includes actions that promote young people's active participation and respect for their rights through such activities as fostering innovative and creative safe digital experiences for young people and ensuring they have a say in policies governing the digital environment.

Table 3: Active participation, respecting rights – Romania

Read the full Policy monitor country profile for detailed information on key national policy frameworks in Romania.

Read the full 2026 edition of the Policy monitor report.

BIK+ index 2026: Romania         

The BIK+ index has been developed to provide an aggregated at-a-glance overview of the levels of implementation across the two dimensions, BIK policies and BIK+ actions, in Romania compared to the EU27+2 average. Values are shown in per cent.

Figure 1: BIK+ index 2026: Romania - EU27+2 average comparison

Please note, the data used in this page and the corresponding country profile was collected in January 2026.