Make the digital safety and wellbeing of children a global investment priority.

Every day, millions of children experience digital harms that threaten their safety, mental health, and futures. A child can be locked into a high-risk online interaction in less than 45 minutes and coerced in as little as 19 seconds. One in three children have been asked for sexual images by someone they met online. Reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have surged by 1,300% in just one year.

These are not isolated incidents; they are evidence of a systemic failure to protect children in a rapidly expanding digital world. What was once unimaginable has become normalised and if we don’t intervene now, it will only get worse. While technology reshapes economies and societies, children’s safety has been left behind. Across every platform – from gaming spaces to social media to AI-powered tools – children face exploitation, manipulation, and violence that no child should ever encounter.

The human and economic cost

The impact of this crisis is both moral and economic. Violence against children is estimated to cost USD $7 trillion annually, which amounts to around 8 percent of global GDP, enough wealth to make it the world’s third-richest nation. In some countries, these costs exceed national health expenditures several times over.

Every second counts: ten new cases of technology-facilitated sexual abuse are reported every second globally  – where digital tools are used to find, harass, control, or exploit victims. Yet, in 13 countries studied as part of Disrupting Harm, only three percent of victims reach out to formal services for help. Behind these numbers are children whose trust, dignity, and safety have been stolen in spaces meant for learning and connection.

The digital transformation has outpaced protection

G20 discussions on digital transformation focus on creating inclusive growth through digital technologies while mitigating risks to mental and physical health. Key areas include ensuring universal connectivity, promoting ethical AI and data governance, and using digital solutions to improve health access and efficiency. This involves addressing the “digital determinants of health,” promoting digital skills, and bridging digital divides to prevent new inequalities from emerging. Governments and industries are investing billions in digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure. But while innovation accelerates, the systems meant to safeguard children remain fragmented and underfunded.

There is growing public concern about the digital environment: social media’s link to youth mental health crises, exploitative algorithms, the spread of deepfakes and AI-generated abuse, and unsafe digital toys and chatbots marketed to young users. Parents are sounding the alarm. Survivor advocates are speaking out. Young people themselves are demanding accountability. And some governments around the world are starting to take action. Yet global investment and coordination still lag far behind the scale of risks. Without urgent action, the gap between technological progress and child safety and wellbeing will only widen.

Africa’s digital revolution is one of the most powerful development stories of our time. Millions of children now connect daily through mobile phones, accessing education, entertainment, and opportunities unimaginable to the previous generation. Yet alongside this progress lies a stark reality: children face increasing risks of sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, grooming, mental health challenges, privacy breaches and harmful content.

The latest data shows an unprecedented and deeply disturbing wave of digital harm worldwide, growing rapidly in both scale and complexity. The rise of AI companions, immersive platforms, and algorithm-driven feeds creates new layers of vulnerability. Children increasingly interact with bots and avatars that feel “real” but may expose them to harmful content. Without robust prevention frameworks, these risks will scale faster than any reactive response can manage.

Left unchecked, these threats undermine trust in technology, damage mental health, exacerbate inequalities, and erode children’s rights. The long-term impact on children’s development, educational attainment and overall well-being carries profound consequences not only for the individual but for societies and economies at large.

In an era where digital technology permeates every aspect of children’s lives, the digital threats impacting their safety have never been greater. The recent Digital Dialogue on Children’s Digital Safety, co-hosted by Safe Online, WHO, and UNICEF, brought together over 250 global stakeholders—governments, survivors and youth leaders, civil society, and experts—to transform commitments into tangible action. The dialogue served not only as a platform for sharing strategies but also as a call to action to maintain momentum from the first-ever global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence against Children in Bogota, Colombia in 2024.  

Safe Online grantees and implementing partners working across the Latin America and Caribbean region connected for reflection and learning on November 5, 2024, as part of the Safe Online Regional Network Forum. The Forum brought together 20 experts representing  20 grantees and partners working in the region and beyond with a particular focus in nine countries (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico and Peru) representing seven NGOs, six International NGOs, two UNICEF Country Offices, two academia, one private company as well as four global and regional organizations. The Forum helped to facilitate knowledge exchange, promote networks and foster partnerships. It provided a platform for sharing experiences and lessons learned in combatting online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) both within the region and globally and in the context of other forms of violence against children.

As 2024 comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on a year marked by both immense challenges and significant opportunities in safeguarding children in an increasingly digital world. The rapid evolution of technologies—such as Generative AI and extended reality platforms—has reshaped our digital landscape, offering immense potential but also exacerbating the risks children face online. While these technological advancements promise to change lives for the better, they also outpace our collective ability to protect children from harm, presenting critical questions about how we mobilize the necessary resources to respond. 

This year, we saw a growing consensus among policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society on the need for global collaboration to create a safer, more ethical digital future. Discussions around AI ethics, governance, privacy, and child safety have expanded beyond niche circles, signaling progress. Governments have begun stepping up with regulatory frameworks aimed at mitigating harm, safeguarding privacy, and ensuring accountability. However, we know regulation alone is not enough.