Read | Listen | Watch

France’s highest constitutional authority struck down a proposed social media ban for under-15s because it violated the rights to free expression and privacy. This confirms what children’s rights experts have consistently argued: sweeping bans on social media are a false solution. Policymakers working to protect children online should be paying close attention to this decision, shifting their focus from restricting children’s access to the better regulation of platforms.

The outcome report of the first Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF) Conference importantly recognised that human rights must underpin a just transition away from fossil fuels, a focus that was missing from the conference itself. Ahead of the second TAFF Conference, co-hosted by Tuvalu and Ireland, CRIN joins 30 human rights organisations, advocating for concrete measures to ensure human rights and children’s rights are not merely recognised, but implemented during the just transition.

In March, the European Union adopted its first-ever Intergenerational Fairness (IGF) Strategy, which aims to ensure ‘young people’ can better shape the policies that affect them. However, umbrella words like ‘intergenerational’ and ‘young people’ can inadvertently exclude children’s specific rights and needs. This adoption is also taking place during the EU's ongoing deregulation agenda, which undermines its Strategy’s goals. In this article, CRIN examines the IGF Strategy’s shortcomings: looking at the language we use about children, and what happens when institutional promises don’t align with their actions.

This week, the European Parliament had a long overdue opportunity to get an impact assessment started on the Food and Feed Safety Omnibus. In a joint letter, CRIN and five other child rights and youth organisations urged MEP Pieter Liese to support the request to study the effects of the Omnibus more rigorously, emphasising its potential impact on children. Our call was left unanswered.

The UK is rushing to ban social media for children. But CRIN and many other child protection and children’s rights experts have repeatedly warned that this is the wrong approach. Social media bans are a political band-aid; they blame children instead of existing harmful business models.

The first conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels concluded on 29 April. While the space was hopeful and optimistic, its success is highly dependent on what States decide to do now - and in the future. We discuss CRIN’s contributions to the conference, emphasising why children’s rights and human rights must be included in discussions on a just transition away from fossil fuels.