Safer Internet Day: Protecting children in the online environment

Belgrade, 10 February 2026 – Children today are growing up in an online environment that strongly shapes how they learn, communicate and participate in society. For children, the online environment now includes not only social media and entertainment platforms, but also digital systems used for learning, communication and access to services. While digital technologies offer many opportunities, they also expose children to serious risks, often without adequate protection.

Across the world, children face violence and harassment online, sexual exploitation and abuse, manipulative marketing practices, misuse of personal data, and exposure to violent and inappropriate content. These risks increasingly extend beyond social media to digital systems used for learning, including those based on artificial intelligence, where technological development often outpaces the ability of laws and protection mechanisms to adapt.

UNICEF analysis of AI-enabled education systems reviewed across countries in Europe and Central Asia shows that safeguards for children often lag behind technological development. The analysis found that nearly four in ten of the systems reviewed did not provide publicly available information on data protection practices, making it difficult to assess how children’s data are collected, used or protected and pointing to gaps in transparency and accountability. Similar challenges are evident across the wider online environment used by children.

Online platforms play a central role in children’s digital lives, yet existing rules often fall short of protecting them from harm. Unclear responsibilities for platforms, limited transparency, and weak enforcement continue to undermine effective protection. Strengthening children’s online safety requires clearer rules, stronger accountability, and oversight mechanisms that ensure children’s rights are respected in practice. UNICEF responds to these challenges by strengthening public policies and advancing approaches to regulating online platforms in line with international standards and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting families.

In line with this approach, UNICEF works with partners in Serbia to improve children’s online safety. In partnership with Yettel, UNICEF has developed the Digital Compass for Parents, a set of practical brochures for parents, caregivers and teachers designed to support open, informed and supportive conversations with children about their online experiences, including those related to learning.

Ensuring children’s safety in the online environment depends on shared responsibility and coordinated, responsible action by institutions, the private sector, parents and digital platforms themselves, so that the digital space supports the safe development, learning and wellbeing of every child.