Child rights are universal, online and off

To those who fear that the web is beyond control, there’s a message: there’s more to hope for than to despair of. In their report, One in three: internet governance and children’s rights, three experts in children’s use of technology seek to pinpoint those rights to protection whilst ensuring that the benefits offered by internet and offline technology – to children in particular – are not eclipsed.

One of the authors, John Carr, makes it plain that protection cannot equal a clampdown on provision of, or participation in, online services and mobile technologies. “We don’t refuse to teach children how to read because of the possibility they might come across an unsuitable book,” he says, summing up the three ‘Ps’ that are outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: the child rights to protection, provision and participation.

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