June 4, 2026 (8:30)

CTICC | Cape Town International Convention Centre - 1.61

Contact: Prof Sonia Livingstone, s.livingstone@lse.ac.uk

Register HERE (Online registration is available until: 5/4/2026)

Objective: Children and young people are often the earliest to go online, arguably the "canaries in the coal mine" of digital innovation around the world. Early optimism that the internet would enhance the realisation of children's rights is giving way to concern that digital business models are driving problematic societal transformations that undermine children's rights. Simultaneously, the Global South seeks ever greater digital connectivity to overcome barriers of access and inclusion, while the Global North increasingly calls out the adverse effects of digital inclusion on children's wellbeing. Education and awareness-raising for a digital world are crucial, but they are insufficient on their own. Many now call for stronger regulation to rein in the power of big tech to commodify and reshape all aspects of daily life in the interests of profit. But this is proving hugely contentious, with rights seemingly in conflict -safety, speech, privacy, participation- and with stakeholders also arguing over the roles of government, business, civil society, families, educators and more in safeguarding children's rights in a rapidly changing and complex digital world. This pre-conference will bring together scholars across ICA divisions and interest groups to address urgent and intersecting questions such as: How can data governance and AI design respect children's rights? What do child influencers, digital labour and commercial platforms mean for children's possibilities to exercise their rights in a digital age? How are gender, disability, and intersectional vulnerabilities shaping digital childhoods? What roles do digital participation, climate justice, and youth activism play? Although the questions are diverse, a child rights focus is simultaneously integrative yet flexible. The objective is to bring together different perspectives, expertise and approaches under the umbrella of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's General comment No. 25 on Children's Rights in Relation to the Digital Environment. At the same time, we will seek to recognise and discuss questions of interpretation, application and contestation over children's rights, on the one hand, and the digital environment, on the other, especially as these are contextualised around the world.

Description:

An open call for short papers will allow inclusive participation from different parts of the world. These will be pre-circulated to ensure depth and informed discussion on the day. We will begin at 8.30 with a short welcome from the organisers, introducing the aims of the pre-conference and why children's rights in the digital world matter now. At 9.00, Ann Skelton, former Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, will give the keynote address. She will reflect on the significance of General Comment no. 25 and the challenges of realising children's rights in practice in rapidly changing digital contexts. From 9.30 to 10.30 we will discuss a set of short papers, in thematically-arranged groups around the banquet tables. These may cover themes such as child online safety, regulating for children's privacy, children's participation in digital governance, legal contestation over competing rights, young influencers and the platform economy, algorithmic childhoods, and the best interests of the child in digital environments. After a coffee break from 10.30 to 11.00, we return for a panel discussion. Scholars and practitioners will explore how research can inform policy, regulation and design, and how Global South perspectives can shape global debates. It will be a priority to build research capacity, to prioritise attention to research in the global South, and to develop a mutual research agenda to advance this field and its impact.