Blanket bans on children's social media use are gaining political momentum worldwide, often framed as decisive child protection measures. Yet the evidence base on their effectiveness — and their implications for children's rights, including participation, access to information, and privacy — is only just emerging and remains a live conversation. This session brings together governments, policy makers, researchers and child rights experts to critically examine the latest evidence and country experiences.
Speakers from Finland, Jamaica, and Australia will share the latest evidence and experience from their contexts and reflect on global trends and developments. The session will include a deeper dive into the work currently being undertaken by the Government of Finland, including their consultation with over 60,000 children, as well as experience and evidence from Jamaica and Australia, among others.
The session speakers will explore what problem they are trying to solve, what alternatives exist (including platform design regulation, age-appropriate design codes, digital literacy), and what unintended consequences bans may create. Participants — governments, policy makers, researchers and child rights experts — will examine what genuinely protects children's safety and rights, and how policy makers can build effective, evidence-based responses beyond any single measure.
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