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.
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.
Why the G20 must act now
As G20 leaders meet to define the future of the global digital economy, artificial intelligence, and inclusive growth, we ask:
Where is the safety and wellbeing of children in these plans? We urge the G20 to:
The risks children face online do not stop at borders. Our response must be equally borderless, collective, and accountable.
A new coalition for Safe Digital Futures
To help drive this transformation, a new global coalition, Safe Digital Futures – Invest in Children, has been launched by Safe Online, the Brave Movement, ChildFund International, Mtoto News, Plan International, World Vision International, and more expected to join.
The coalition aims to unite governments, philanthropy, the private sector, and civil society behind one goal: unlocking coordinated, sustainable financing to make digital environments safe, inclusive, and empowering for children. Its first milestone will be the G20 Social Summit 2025 in South Africa — bringing together leaders to align resources and build a roadmap toward sustainable funding for children’s digital safety and wellbeing around the world.
A shared responsibility
The choices made today will define the childhoods of an entire generation. Technology will continue to evolve — but whether it empowers or endangers children depends on collective will and investment from the G20.
To the leaders of the G20: You have the influence, the resources, and the responsibility to make this change. Make the digital safety and wellbeing of children a priority. Act now to ensure that the digital revolution uplifts rather than exploits the youngest members of our societies.
Because no innovation is truly transformative if it leaves children behind.
Because children deserve safe, healthy, and empowering digital futures.
Without investment in this work—across sectors and borders—we risk limiting children’s potential to contribute to society and facing significant social and economic costs as a result.
Let us invest in it, together.
Signed by: Representatives of governments, child rights organisations, the private sector, survivor advocates, parents and children
Safer Internet Day, on 7 February, is a day for the international community to collectively advocate for a safer, better internet, where everyone is empowered to use technology ‘responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively’.
Representatives of 21 Safe Online grants across Southeast Asia and the Pacific had the opportunity to meet face-to-face in Bangkok, Thailand this week in an important moment of reflection and learning.
Every day, technology dominates headlines—whether it’s the rise of generative AI, the growth of immersive experiences, or the influence of algorithms on our daily lives. But behind the excitement, there’s a darker story that needs urgent attention: the safety of children and young people in the digital world.
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We are here to ensure every child and young person grows in to the digital world feeling safe, and is protected from harm.
We support, champion, and invest in innovative partners from the public, private, and third sectors working towards the same objective.
We believe in equipping guardians and young people with the skills to understand and see danger themselves once accessing digital experiences without supervision.
