Protecting children online

EDITORIAL: The findings of UNICEF report on the scale of online sexual exploitation and abuse of children should serve as an urgent alert to governments, technology companies, parents and society at large. Based on nationally representative surveys conducted between 2020 and 2025 among around 21, 000 internet-using children in 21 countries, including Pakistan, Kenya, Brazil and Serbia, the report estimates that around 20 million children experienced some form of sexual exploitation or abuse online in a single year. This represents not an isolated problem but a rapidly expanding child-protection crisis that is crossing borders and exploiting the reach of digital technology. A particularly worrying aspect of the report is the role of social media. Nearly 60 per cent of reported cases occurred on platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, while online gaming accounted for another significant share. These platforms have become an integral part of children’s lives, but their enormous reach and relative anonymity can also provide offenders with unprecedented opportunities to target vulnerable young people. The problem is further complicated by the fact that more than half of the cases involved someone the child already knew, showing that the threat does not come only from anonymous strangers online. The extremely low reporting rate is another cause for concern. Fewer than one per cent of cases were reported to the police, a social worker or a helpline, pointing to serious gaps in protection and support systems. Children tend to remain silent because of shame, fear, threats, social stigma or uncertainty about where to seek help. Governments therefore need to establish accessible, confidential and child-friendly reporting mechanisms, while schools should teach children not only how to use technology safely but also how to recognise manipulation, coercion and online grooming. Technology companies, too, have a clear responsibility. Platforms must invest in age-appropriate design, effective age verification, rapid reporting and response mechanisms, stronger moderation and proactive detection of exploitation. Independent audits should determine whether these measures are actually effective rather than relying solely on assurances from technology companies. Parents also need greater awareness of the risks children face online and should be encouraged to create an environment in which children can seek help without fear of blame or punishment. The emergence of artificial intelligence makes the situation even more urgent. UNICEF’s finding that an estimated 1. 1 million children in nine countries had AI-generated sexual images or videos created depicting them shows how technology can amplify existing forms of abuse. Children can now be victimised without an actual photograph ever being taken, making conventional approaches to child protection increasingly inadequate. The psychological consequences are equally alarming: children subjected to technology-facilitated sexual exploitation were significantly more likely to report suicidal thoughts, self-harm and anxiety. The damage, therefore, extends far beyond the digital space. Keeping children away from technology is neither realistic nor desirable. The task is to make the digital environment safe. Governments must strengthen laws and enforcement, schools and parents should improve digital awareness, and technology companies must accept that child safety is a responsibility, not a public-relations exercise. Protecting children online ought to be recognised as a basic public-safety obligation, not an optional feature of the digital economy. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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