A new report reveals alarming trends in online threats against children, highlighting the urgent need for a collective and faster response from the entire online ecosystem to ensure child protection. The findings emerge amidst a backdrop of escalating global challenges, including conflicts, displacement, poverty, and violence, which disproportionately affect children.
“We meet today once again in a challenging world, where children are paying the highest price,” stated Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, during the report’s launch at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
AI’s Transformative Impact on Online Threats
With insights from over 30,000 children globally, the report underscores how artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally altering the nature of online threats. The rapid development and accessibility of generative AI are making cyberbullying more sophisticated, enabling faster and more targeted attacks that are harder to detect and capable of spreading rapidly across numerous platforms.
The current digital landscape, which facilitates the creation of AI-generated deepfake photos and videos and allows for the manipulation of children via chatbots, leads many young users to place undue trust in online interactions, often failing to distinguish them from genuine human engagement.
Dr. M’jid’s office issued a statement on Tuesday, warning that AI deepfakes are increasingly weaponized to humiliate, threaten, and exploit children online.
Challenges in Reporting and Fear of Stigma
The report indicates that children face significant barriers in reporting cyberbullying due to the fear of stigma and potential rejection by peers or judgment from adults. The consequences of not reporting can be immediate and severe, leading to psychological distress and lasting reputational damage within moments. In the most tragic instances, these experiences have driven children to suicide.
Designing a Safer Digital Future ‘With Us’
Dr. M’jid emphasized the critical necessity of involving all stakeholders—including governments, industry, educators, families, and children themselves—in the online child protection framework. This collaborative approach is deemed essential for safeguarding children from online harm while promoting their safe participation in the digital world.
A child consulted for the report articulated a powerful message: “Digital spaces must not become places where harm is reported but never resolved. They must be places where help comes quickly, safely, humanly. Do not design the digital future for children. Design it with us.”
