Does online regulation work for children? Accounting for child rights impacts in the new regulatory era

14 May | 6:30 - 8:00 pm | Followed by drinks reception

Location: LSE Lecture Theatre, Centre Building, Ground Floor & online

Online attendance: Zoom, https://lse.zoom.us/j/81854212011, Meeting ID: 818 5421 2011

Major online safety regulations and legislation are now in force across the UK and EU. Platforms have new duties, regulators have new powers, and expectations are high. But what has actually changed for children?

The Digital Futures for Children (DFC) - a joint research centre between LSE and the 5Rights Foundation - invites you to a public lecture examining how the UK’s Online Safety Act, Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) and the EU’s Digital Services Act are reshaping platform design, governance and accountability in practice.

As laws take effect, businesses respond, and enforcement gathers pace, we present new DFC research which examines whether the regulation is actually working.

Drawing on new research from DFC, the discussion will explore:

• What actions are being taken by platforms to embed safety and rights by design?

• Whether regulatory requirements are resulting in clear, measurable improvements for children.

• How regulatory effectiveness can be assessed in ways that strengthen children’s rights.

The lecture will bring together leading voices from regulation, legal scholarship and child rights to reflect on new evidence of impact. The panel will identify the needed next steps to ensure that the regulation delivers meaningful protection and avoids adverse consequences.

Speakers:

• Steve Wood, Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE/DFC and Director, PrivacyX Consulting, former Deputy at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) (Report author)

• Baroness Beeban Kidron, Crossbench Peer, House of Lords, UK Parliament and Chair of the Management Committee at the Digital Futures for Children centre

• Professor Orla Lynskey, Chair of Law and Technology at UCL

• Professor Lorna Woods, OBE, Emeritus Professor of Internet Law at the University of Essex

Chair: Professor Sonia Livingstone, OBE, Professor at the Department of Media and Communications, LSE and Director of the Digital Futures for Children centre

The event is co-organised by the Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC), 5 Rights Foundation, and the Department of Media and Communications, LSE. 

Speaker biographies 

Baroness Beeban Kidron OBE Chair of the DFC centre’s Management Committee, Visiting Professor in Practice at LSE and is the Founder and Chair of 5Rights Foundation. She is a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords and a world-renowned advocate for children’s rights in the digital world.

Prof Sonia Livingstone OBE, Department of Media and Communications at LSE, has published 23 books and advised governments, European Commission, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF and others on children’s opportunities, risks and rights in the digital environment. She directs the Digital Futures for Children centre.

Prof Orla Lynskey is Chair of Law and Technology at UCL Laws and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. Her current research focuses on the coherence and effectiveness of digital regulation, with a particular focus on data protection and digital rights.

Steve Wood is a former UK Deputy Information Commissioner and Chair of the OECD Working Party on Data Governance and Privacy. Steve founded PrivacyX Consulting in April 2022 to advise and support clients with strategy and policy related to data protection, online safety and digital regulation. Steve is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at LSE/DFC and authored the first report on the impact of regulation on children’s digital lives for the DFC in 2024.

Professor Lorna Woods OBE is an Emeritus Professor of Internet Law at the University of Essex and a leading expert in online safety, platform regulation, and digital governance. She is widely known for helping shape the UK’s “duty of care” approach to regulating social media and was awarded an OBE in 2020 for services to internet safety policy.

Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels