G7 digital ministers agree first shared principles on child online safety

G7 digital ministers have agreed their first shared principles on protecting children and young people from online harm.

The agreement was reached during talks in Paris under France’s G7 presidency. It sets out a common approach to risks such as harmful content, online exploitation, and the use of AI chatbots by children.

The principles call for stronger digital literacy so that children, parents, and guardians can better understand online risks. They also call for digital services to include safety measures from the start, rather than adding protections only after harms occur.

The agreement places responsibility on digital service providers to adopt robust online safety practices. This includes age-appropriate design, effective age assurance, and closer cooperation with children, families, and guardians.

Age assurance means checking or estimating whether a user is old enough to access a service or certain types of content. It can include a range of methods, from age declaration to more technical verification tools.

The G7 also called for better access to data and research on how digital services affect children’s well-being. Ministers said platforms, researchers, and families should cooperate more closely to understand risks and improve safeguards.

The agreement also forms part of the G7’s wider agenda on AI. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to trustworthy AI and agreed to continue work on assessing and managing AI risks.

This includes discussions on AI-related cyberattacks, chemical and biological risks, AI-generated content detection, secure AI systems, trusted data flows, and more resource-efficient digital and AI infrastructure.

G7 members also backed support for small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt AI through a tool developed with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The next workstreams will focus on AI risk assessment frameworks, AI openness, content detection, secure AI systems, trusted data flows, and support for smaller businesses using AI.