🔦🔍💡 The best interests of the child and digital: a clear framework to avoid false trade-offs between safety, autonomy and commercial interests.🧩📱 The document shows when a true formal determination is needed, and when it is especially important to apply the full range of children's rights.
📌 This text is useful for prevention, public health, social and medico-social professionals working with children exposed to digital use, risks of exploitation, tensions between autonomy and protection, or decisions regarding guidance and protection. It helps to distinguish what constitutes a true rights-based trade-off from what is merely a discourse of compliance or communication. It also serves as a basis for dialogue with digital services, families, and local decision-makers.
📜🔗LINK to the source
1. Analytical summary
Context and issues
The report starts from a simple observation: in the digital environment, the principle of the best interests of the child is increasingly invoked, but often misunderstood or used too generally. The authors remind us that the UNCRC primarily requires respect for all the rights of the child, and not to reduce them to a single logic of protection or a ‘one size fits all’ solution. The text also highlights frequent tensions between agency, protection, privacy, and the commercial interests of platforms. It situates the subject within concrete legal frameworks, notably in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, and California.
Operational contributions
The report specifies when a formal determination of the best interests is necessary, who should lead it, and on what basis it should rest. It emphasises three key elements: consultation with children, examination of available evidence, and explicit documentation of the trade-offs made. The text recommends the use of child rights due diligence tools, particularly Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIA), for digital services likely to be used by children. It finally provides a framework of responsibilities clearly distinguishing the role of states and that of digital service providers.
2. Key points of the document
The report reminds us that the best interests of the child is a principle of procedure and substance, but that it does not replace all the rights of the child; it mainly serves to arbitrate when several rights come into tension (p. 2, 10-12).
It shows that the use of the principle in the digital realm varies by country, with specific examples in the United Kingdom, the EU, Australia, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, and California (p. 7-9).
It emphasises that it is the States, and not the companies, that must determine the best interests of the child; companies must then comply with this (p. 15-16, 20-21).
It recommends that a serious determination should be based on consulting children, reviewing evidence, analysing conflicting rights, and accountability for decisions (p. 16-17, 20).
It proposes the CRIA as a central tool to anticipate the effects of digital products and services on children's rights, with participation from children and independent experts (p. 17, 21).
3. Local action points
Use the logic of the report to evaluate a local digital service before its deployment to minors, checking the impacts on privacy, security, access to information, and autonomy (p. 15-17).
Integrate genuine consultation with children and adolescents in education, prevention, or digital support projects, then document what they said and what was retained (p. 16-17, 20).
Use a CRIA before any partnership with a platform, application, or e-service tool aimed at minor audiences (p. 17, 21).
Reject approaches based solely on parental consent, especially when they risk reinforcing inequalities in access or control over children's digital usage (p. 8-10).
Establish, in local structures, a simple rule for reviewing conflicts of interest: as soon as a commercial, technical or organisational objective comes into tension with a child's right, the analysis must be formalised and recorded (p. 11-12, 18-21).
4. Additional references
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General comment No. 25 (2021) — essential legal basis on children's rights in the digital environment, with consultation of children and obligations of states and companies. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-comment-no-25-2021-childrens-rights-relation
ICO, Best interests of the child overview — useful operational resource for understanding how to translate this principle into concrete assessment in the design of digital services, even if the page is under revision. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/childrens-information/childrens-code-guidance-and-resources/best-interests-self-assessment/best-interests-of-the-child-overview/
OECD, Recommendation on Children in the Digital Environment — recent and structuring framework for public policies and the conduct of digital actors around safety, empowerment and multi-stakeholder cooperation - https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0389
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5. FAQ
When should a determination of the best interests of the child be made?
When several children's rights are in tension, or when the interests of other actors may conflict with those of children; it is not necessary for every routine decision (p. 14-15).
Who should determine the best interests of the child?
States primarily, through a competent, independent authority capable of enforcing compliance with the decision; companies cannot self-attribute this (p. 15-16, 20-21).
Can companies themselves use the principle?
They can apply it as a compliance framework, but they must not present themselves as the authority that "decides" on behalf of the State; rather, they should document their impacts and submit contested cases to public scrutiny (p. 13, 15-16, 21).
Why does the report criticise parental consent as the sole solution?
Because it does not guarantee the best interests of the child on its own and may even increase adult control over children's access to the digital world, depending on family and social contexts (p. 8-10).
What tool does the report highlight for digital products?
The Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA), used to anticipate the impacts of a product or service on children's rights, with consultation of children and independent experts (p. 17, 21).
Does the principle of best interests mean that maximum protection is always required?
No. The document shows that sometimes it is necessary to balance protection, autonomy, access to information, and privacy, taking into account the age and evolving capacities of the child (p. 11-12, 15).
What is the main message for digital platforms?
Platforms must design their services to respect all children's rights, document their choices, and prioritise children's privacy, safety, and well-being over commercial interests in case of conflict (p. 11-14, 20-21).
6. FALC Rewriting
The subject of the document
The document discusses children's rights in the digital world. It explains the best interests of the child. It shows how to use it correctly.
What to remember
Children have rights that go together.
One cannot choose a single right.
All rights must be respected at the same time.
Sometimes, rights contradict each other.
One must then make a real arbitration.
It is the states that must decide.
Companies must follow these decisions.
They must not decide alone.
They must also explain their choices.
Children must be listened to.
Their opinions must be noted.
Evidence must also be studied.
Key points in Easy to Read
The best interests of the child do not replace other rights.
It helps to choose when there is a conflict.
Digital technology can help children.
It can also expose them to risks.
Parental consent is not always enough.
One must look at the child's actual situation.
Children are not all the same.
One must take into account age and abilities.
The CRIA is used to study the effects of a digital service.
It helps to protect children's rights.
7. Cross-sectional analysis — values of Health Practices
Literacy : The document is based on demanding legal concepts, but it also provides clear guidelines for translating them into practice, particularly through the CRIA and the principles of the UNCRC.
Empowerment : Children are explicitly consulted, and their views must be documented and taken into account in the decisions.
Participation : The text calls for representative consultations of children, including at the group level, not just individual cases.
Community health : The collective dimension is present when the report addresses children as an age group and the effects of digital environments on common well-being.
Ethics : The document criticises vague or manipulative uses of the principle, particularly when they serve commercial interests.
Human rights : The approach is explicitly based on the UNCRC, the indivisibility of rights, and the priority given to children as rights holders.
Intersectorality : The report recommends coordinated intervention by states, regulators, businesses, experts, civil societies, and researchers.
Partnership : Forms of collaboration are suggested, but under public control and with final responsibility of the competent authorities.
Combating discrimination : The text calls for particular attention to disabled children, LGBTQIA+, and those from ethnic minorities.
8. Reliability of the resource
The resource is solid from a scientific and normative perspective, as it is based on the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, several General comments from the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and a method combining document analysis, literature review, and expert review. From an operational standpoint, it is directly usable for advocacy, impact assessment, the design of digital services, and regulation, but it remains a framework for guidance rather than a comprehensive manual. The references and URLs cited in the document are consistent with known institutional or academic sources, and the main factual elements are in agreement with verified sources.