About our SID activities
Safeguarding and promoting the rights of the child in the digital environment and keeping them safe online are at the heart of our work. The right to access and safe use of technologies remains one of the key priorities of our current Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022–2027).
This year, in celebration of Safer Internet Day, we will launch a new Training for trainers module for frontline professionals on safeguarding children from online child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. Developed as part of the regional project “End online child Sexual exploitation and abuse@Europe Plus (EndOCSEA@Europe+)” focusing on Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Montenegro, this comprehensive and practical module aims to guide national trainers to build the capacities of teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals to effectively safeguard children from online risks. It is adaptable to different national contexts and has already been translated into Romanian (adapted to the Moldovan context), with Georgian and Montenegrin versions coming soon.
As rapidly evolving technologies continue to shape the digital landscape, they present both opportunities and challenges in protecting children's rights and ensuring their safety. Our recent Mapping study on the Rights of the Child and artificial intelligence highlights the urgent need for stronger legal frameworks to protect children in the age of AI. It underscores the importance of adopting a child-rights based approach, incorporating child rights impact and risk assessments, and meaningfully engaging with children and young people on these topics. In response, the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) is developing a Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool (CRIA) on Artificial Intelligence. This tool will support member states in better navigating the complexities of AI and ensuring that children’s rights are effectively upheld in an increasingly digital world.
Additionally, at the 26th session of the Council of Europe standing conference of Ministers of education on 29 September 2024, the Ministers of Education declared 2025 as the European year of digital citizenship education.This initiative will provide a platform for member states to set shared goals, exchange best practices, and create a roadmap for the future, focusing on empowering learners, including children, to navigate the digital world responsibly, helping them understand the positive aspects of the digital environment while equipping them with the skills to avoid risks. A series of events will be held throughout the year to support this important initiative.
What we are doing to create a better internet...
We are strongly committed to upholding children’s rights in the digital environment and protecting them from online sexual exploitation and abuse. The Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) is overseeing the implementation of this crucial strand of our work. In April 2025, a session of the mid-term review conference of the Strategy for the Rights of the Child will allow the CDENF, together with key stakeholders and experts, to take stock of existing Council of Europe standards and tools upholding children’s rights in the digital environment, as well as to explore concrete examples of national implementation.
Our efforts are driven through various key instruments, including the Convention on the Protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Lanzarote convention), and Convention on cybercrime (Budapest convention), as well as bilateral and regional projects. The Lanzarote Committee (Committee of the Parties to the Lanzarote Convention) addressed the online dimension of child sexual abuse and exploitation in early years, by adopting three opinions on Solicitation of children for sexual purposes through information and communication technologies (ICTs), on the applicability of the Lanzarote Convention to sexual offences against children facilitated by ICTs and on child sexually suggestive or explicit images and/or videos generated, shared and received by children. Additionally, the Lanzarote Committee’s 2nd monitoring round focused on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs), specifically addressing the challenges raised by child self-generated images and/or videos. The corresponding Implementation report adopted in March 2022 provides specific recommendations and promising practices. In this framework, State Parties to the Lanzarote Convention commit to criminalise all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse against children, online and offline. To help State Parties and civil society to better identify and address gaps and challenges in their frameworks comprehensive thematic and country factsheets were published in 2023. In October 2024, the Lanzarote Committee requested State Parties to submit information on measures taken to comply with its recommendations by 1 March 2025. Their replies, along with comments from civil society will be published online.
On 7 November 2024, the Lanzarote Committee also adopted a Declaration on protecting children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by emerging technologies recalling that sexual offences against children should remain criminalised whatever the means used to commit them, including emerging technologies like AI-generated or altered child sexual abuse material.
The 2024 edition of our annual awareness raising Day (18 November) for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse focused on emerging technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
In April 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a Resolution and a Recommendation calling on member states to establish a comprehensive legal framework that protects children in the digital environment by applying an integrated and balanced approach to reduce exposure to harm online while not infringing on children’s opportunities to benefit from the internet. Noting the importance of international and cross-border co-operation in protecting children from online violence, the Assembly called for as many countries as possible around the world to accede to the Lanzarote Convention.
The European Audiovisual Observatory also contributed to these efforts by publishing reports on the protection of minors on video-sharing platforms (VSPs). In 2023, the report “The protection of minors on VSPs: age verification and parental control” provided insights into the measures implemented across Council of Europe member states to protect minors online. In 2024, a follow-up report “Safe screens: protecting minors online,” built on these findings.
Through our country specific projects ”Preventing and protecting children from violence, including in the digital environment in the Republic of Moldova” (Phase III), Combating violence against children in Georgia and the regional project “End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse@Europe Plus (EndOCSEA@Europe+) focusing on Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Montenegro, we are conducting a series of actions to raise awareness on the risks of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and promoting digital literacy and safe use of internet for children in these countries. This includes inter alia raising awareness about Safer Internet Day on social media by disseminating relevant Council of Europe tools and materials and encouraging CSOs to join Safer Internet Day platform, as well as conducting training sessions for professionals working to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
About us
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. The Council of Europe protects the human rights of children in the digital environment by mainstreaming children’s rights into all aspects of its work, and by ensuring that a range of priority actions are implemented in order to ensure the participation and protection of children in the digital environment as well as by making provision for children’s rights in the digital environment in its 46 member states and beyond.
Like with the previous Council of Europe strategy for the rights of the child (2016-2021), children’s rights in the digital environment are among key strategic objectives of our current strategy for the rights of the child (2022-2027).The Council of Europe aims to empower all children and young people in becoming active digital citizens, so that they can participate safely, effectively, critically and responsibly in the complex world of the digital environment, including social media.
Additional links / resources
About our SID activities
Safeguarding and promoting the rights of the child in the digital environment and keeping them safe online are at the heart of our work. The right to access and safe use of technologies remains one of the key priorities of our current Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022–2027).
This year, in celebration of Safer Internet Day, we will launch a new Training for trainers module for frontline professionals on safeguarding children from online child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. Developed as part of the regional project “End online child Sexual exploitation and abuse@Europe Plus (EndOCSEA@Europe+)” focusing on Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Montenegro, this comprehensive and practical module aims to guide national trainers to build the capacities of teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals to effectively safeguard children from online risks. It is adaptable to different national contexts and has already been translated into Romanian (adapted to the Moldovan context), with Georgian and Montenegrin versions coming soon.
As rapidly evolving technologies continue to shape the digital landscape, they present both opportunities and challenges in protecting children's rights and ensuring their safety. Our recent Mapping study on the Rights of the Child and artificial intelligence highlights the urgent need for stronger legal frameworks to protect children in the age of AI. It underscores the importance of adopting a child-rights based approach, incorporating child rights impact and risk assessments, and meaningfully engaging with children and young people on these topics. In response, the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) is developing a Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool (CRIA) on Artificial Intelligence. This tool will support member states in better navigating the complexities of AI and ensuring that children’s rights are effectively upheld in an increasingly digital world.
Additionally, at the 26th session of the Council of Europe standing conference of Ministers of education on 29 September 2024, the Ministers of Education declared 2025 as the European year of digital citizenship education.This initiative will provide a platform for member states to set shared goals, exchange best practices, and create a roadmap for the future, focusing on empowering learners, including children, to navigate the digital world responsibly, helping them understand the positive aspects of the digital environment while equipping them with the skills to avoid risks. A series of events will be held throughout the year to support this important initiative.
What we are doing to create a better internet...
We are strongly committed to upholding children’s rights in the digital environment and protecting them from online sexual exploitation and abuse. The Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) is overseeing the implementation of this crucial strand of our work. In April 2025, a session of the mid-term review conference of the Strategy for the Rights of the Child will allow the CDENF, together with key stakeholders and experts, to take stock of existing Council of Europe standards and tools upholding children’s rights in the digital environment, as well as to explore concrete examples of national implementation.
Our efforts are driven through various key instruments, including the Convention on the Protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Lanzarote convention), and Convention on cybercrime (Budapest convention), as well as bilateral and regional projects. The Lanzarote Committee (Committee of the Parties to the Lanzarote Convention) addressed the online dimension of child sexual abuse and exploitation in early years, by adopting three opinions on Solicitation of children for sexual purposes through information and communication technologies (ICTs), on the applicability of the Lanzarote Convention to sexual offences against children facilitated by ICTs and on child sexually suggestive or explicit images and/or videos generated, shared and received by children. Additionally, the Lanzarote Committee’s 2nd monitoring round focused on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs), specifically addressing the challenges raised by child self-generated images and/or videos. The corresponding Implementation report adopted in March 2022 provides specific recommendations and promising practices. In this framework, State Parties to the Lanzarote Convention commit to criminalise all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse against children, online and offline. To help State Parties and civil society to better identify and address gaps and challenges in their frameworks comprehensive thematic and country factsheets were published in 2023. In October 2024, the Lanzarote Committee requested State Parties to submit information on measures taken to comply with its recommendations by 1 March 2025. Their replies, along with comments from civil society will be published online.
On 7 November 2024, the Lanzarote Committee also adopted a Declaration on protecting children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse facilitated by emerging technologies recalling that sexual offences against children should remain criminalised whatever the means used to commit them, including emerging technologies like AI-generated or altered child sexual abuse material.
The 2024 edition of our annual awareness raising Day (18 November) for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse focused on emerging technologies: threats and opportunities for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
In April 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a Resolution and a Recommendation calling on member states to establish a comprehensive legal framework that protects children in the digital environment by applying an integrated and balanced approach to reduce exposure to harm online while not infringing on children’s opportunities to benefit from the internet. Noting the importance of international and cross-border co-operation in protecting children from online violence, the Assembly called for as many countries as possible around the world to accede to the Lanzarote Convention.
The European Audiovisual Observatory also contributed to these efforts by publishing reports on the protection of minors on video-sharing platforms (VSPs). In 2023, the report “The protection of minors on VSPs: age verification and parental control” provided insights into the measures implemented across Council of Europe member states to protect minors online. In 2024, a follow-up report “Safe screens: protecting minors online,” built on these findings.
Through our country specific projects ”Preventing and protecting children from violence, including in the digital environment in the Republic of Moldova” (Phase III), Combating violence against children in Georgia and the regional project “End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse@Europe Plus (EndOCSEA@Europe+) focusing on Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Montenegro, we are conducting a series of actions to raise awareness on the risks of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and promoting digital literacy and safe use of internet for children in these countries. This includes inter alia raising awareness about Safer Internet Day on social media by disseminating relevant Council of Europe tools and materials and encouraging CSOs to join Safer Internet Day platform, as well as conducting training sessions for professionals working to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
About us
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. The Council of Europe protects the human rights of children in the digital environment by mainstreaming children’s rights into all aspects of its work, and by ensuring that a range of priority actions are implemented in order to ensure the participation and protection of children in the digital environment as well as by making provision for children’s rights in the digital environment in its 46 member states and beyond.
Like with the previous Council of Europe strategy for the rights of the child (2016-2021), children’s rights in the digital environment are among key strategic objectives of our current strategy for the rights of the child (2022-2027).The Council of Europe aims to empower all children and young people in becoming active digital citizens, so that they can participate safely, effectively, critically and responsibly in the complex world of the digital environment, including social media.
Additional links / resources
