As recognised by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), every child has the right to access information, express themselves, and participate in society. This is further elaborated in General Comment No. 25 (GC25, 2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, which explicitly underscores that the rights of the child apply both online and offline. This framework affirms that digital technologies play a critical role in realising several rights under the UNCRC, such as the right to freedom of expression and freedom of thought (Articles 13 and 14 UNCRC), the right to privacy (Article 16 UNCRC), access to diverse information and protection against harmful content (Article 17 UNCRC), the right to play (Article 31 UNCRC) and the right to protection against economic exploitation (Article 32 UNCRC). However, this justly expansion into the digital realm introduces complex challenges, particularly in balancing these rights with the need for protection from harm.

The European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (BIK+ strategy), and in particular its first focus area (or pillar), which calls for safe digital experiences, aims to create safe, age-appropriate and child-rights-respecting digital services, placing the best interest of children and young people at the centre of its priorities. The BIK+ strategy acknowledges children and young people as active and increasingly independent digital consumers who may be exposed to a variety of risks, potentially exploiting their vulnerabilities against commercial exploitation. Additionally, the European Commission has underscored its commitment to tackling the problem of addictive design as outlined in the EC’s political priorities 2024 to 2029.

Addictive design on the rise: risks to the right of free play and protection of commercial exploitation

The integration of addictive design features into digital platforms—such as endless scrolling, algorithmically-driven content feeds that are aimed at retaining users, and persuasive notifications—raises significant concerns about the impact on children’s mental health, well-being, and development.  

Research has highlighted the potential for these designs to foster excessive use, leading to issues such as sleep disruption, anxiety, and reduced attention spans. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised the likelihood of serious harms associated with excessive screen time and gaming, classifying gaming disorder as a mental health condition in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Furthermore, academic scholars like Sonia Livingstone and Kruakae Pothong (London School of Economics and Political Science) warn about the risks to the right of free play and the European Parliament acknowledges the risk of commercialisation of childhood arising from the internet and addictive technology design.

Findings from a recent Better Internet for Kids research report developed in the context of the Europe-wide awareness campaign AdWiseOnline further substantiate these concerns. The report identifies prevalent manipulative digital marketing practices that have the potential to exploit children’s and young people’s cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities. Dark patterns, loot boxes and gamified spending incentives, such as battle passes, are among the most insidious tactics designed to extend the time spent on mindless scrolling and encourage in-game purchases. Such mechanisms do not only fundamentally undermine children’s rights to free play (UNCRC Article 31) but also compromise their autonomy by nudging them into compulsive behaviours. The report furthermore highlights that existing research shows that children and young people frequently struggle to distinguish between organic content and advertising, which further exacerbates their vulnerability to commercial exploitation.

In response to these increasing concerns, the AdWiseOnline campaign seeks to empower children, parents, and educators with the critical digital literacy skills to recognise and resist manipulative tactics and addictive designs. Through interactive educational materials, explainer videos, and insightful podcast episodes with experts in the field, the campaign provides practical strategies to help children and young people navigate digital spaces more consciously. Children and young people learn to identify deceptive design elements, while educators and parents receive support to mitigate risks by developing their own digital skills and knowledge, fostering open conversations on eye level with children and young people.

Given the potential harms associated with addictive design, there is a pressing need for the technology industry—particularly those involved in social media and gaming platforms—to take greater responsibility in designing age-appropriate digital environments. This involves integrating child-centric principles into the design and operation of these platforms, ensuring that features are developed in a child rights-based approach to designing digital experiences as relevant actors.  

Accelerating change through regulation and collaboration

More broadly, the BIK+ strategy’s pillar 1 – Safe digital experiences is backed by a comprehensive set of EU-level legislation, the protection of minors against these and other risks is a key priority on both the EU and national levels.

The EU’s ‘rule book’ to protect children and young people online against risks including ‘addictive design’ and manipulative marketing practices at a glance:

Digital Services Act (DSA): The DSA curbs addictive design in social media, gaming, and online platforms by banning targeted ads for minors. Very large online platforms and search engines are also required to assess the risks that the design and functioning of their services have on minors. This may include features like infinite scrolling (or “endless scroll”), persuasive notifications, and the role of their algorithm. It aims to push platforms to adopt child-friendly designs that prioritise children’s and young people’s well-being over profit.

Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD): The UCPD protects children from manipulative digital marketing tactics. It provides the rules by which children may not be encouraged directly to buy things or persuade their parents or caregivers to buy products for them. To help companies align their approaches with this framework, the European Commission published Guidelines, which, amongst other aspects, include social media marketing, influencer marketing as well as in-app purchases that are presented as ‘upgrades’.

Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD): The AVMSD reinforces the protection of minors by extending EU media content standards, including rules on the protection of minors, to audiovisual media service providers and video-sharing platforms, such as certain social media providers. Member States must ensure that such platforms put in place appropriate measures to restrict children’s access to harmful content online that could harm their physical, mental or moral development and to protect the general public from content constituting criminal offences, such as child pornography. These measures include effective age verification tools, parental controls and flagging and reporting mechanisms.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): The GDPR limits data-driven addictive design by restricting the profiling of children for engagement-maximising algorithms. It ensures platforms use privacy-friendly settings by default, reducing the ability to track, manipulate, and retain young users. The right to be forgotten allows children to erase their data, helping them disengage from overly intrusive digital environments.

In response to these EU legal frameworks, Member States took national action, implementing measures that fulfil and clarify their approaches to addressing the targeted problems on the national level. In doing so, codes of practice (or codes of conduct) are one instrument that plays an important role in the EU’s better internet policy landscape. The BIK Policy monitor, an annual policy reviewing activity carried out by the Better Internet for Kids initiative in all EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway, has shown in its 2024 report edition that 16 countries reported to have such codes of practice or codes of conduct for digital service providers in place or currently in development that give effect to EU-level legislation (such as AVMSD (Art. 28b)) (DE, IE, NL, PT, RO, SE – “in place”; BE, BG, ES, FR HU, IT, MT, NO, SI – “in development”). In addition, 18 countries reported to have specific consumer codes of practice in place or currently in development regarding the labelling of commercial content on digital services (such as influencer-based marketing) (BE, BG, CZ, EE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IS, IT, LT, NL, NO, PL, SE – “in place”; CY, SI – “in development”; explore the data in detail here on the BIK Policy monitor).

The discourse on addictive design and excessive digital use among children and young people must be situated within the broader context of children’s rights as outlined by the UNCRC. While it is indispensable to protect children from the potential harms associated with digital technologies, these measures must be carefully balanced to ensure that they do not restrict the realisation of children’s rights online. This balancing act requires a commitment to both safeguarding and empowering children in the digital age, recognising their agency as digital citizens, and upholding their rights to access, participation, and protection in equal measure as enshrined in the European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids+ (BIK+ strategy). The industry’s role in this is crucial, and with EU legal frameworks providing the regulatory impetus, there is an opportunity to create a safer, more responsible digital environment for the next generation.