High Commissioner for Human Rights criticizes features designed to capture users’ attention
The United Nations (UN) declared this Friday that it is an “urgent priority” to protect children from social networks, digital platforms and the Internet in general, warning of deficiencies in the age restrictions adopted in several countries.
Online abuse “results from design choices and business practices that compromise security, including addictive features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay and constant application notifications,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Austrian Volker Türk.
“Strengthening the protection of children online is an urgent priority and we must ensure not only that it is carried out, but also that it is implemented correctly,” he continued.
Türk called for stricter measures from both governments and companies, stating that “simply limiting access to platforms that remain dangerous is not enough to effectively protect children.”
Australia was a pioneer in banning access to various digital platforms for children under 16, in 2025, followed by other countries, including Portugal.
According to Türk, focusing only on restrictions will not change the algorithms that made these platforms dangerous. Tech giants must integrate safety “by design, rather than passing that responsibility onto parents and children.”
According to guidelines set out by Türk, the “micro-segmentation” of minors for commercial purposes “should not be allowed”, also suggesting possible age restrictions for the use of ‘chatbots’, based on artificial intelligence.
The guidelines specify that such measures should be subject to independent oversight, with dissuasive legal consequences.
