Digital Safety for Kids: Beyond Protection, Toward Empowerment

In 1979, young voices sang “hey, teacher, leave the kids alone” in Pink Floyd’s iconic anthem. Nearly half a century later, amid new technologies and the increasing online presence of young people, the same question remains: Is it an all-or-nothing choice between top-down restrictions and laissez-faire? As digital life is here to stay, the real challenge is finding a balance that ensures protection while empowering children with learning opportunities for responsible participation.

As the European Union advances new guidelines on the protection of minors under the digital services act and prepares a technical blueprint for an age-assurance system, the Lisbon Council convened the High-Level Working Lunch on ‘The Kids Are Alright: From Digital Protection to Empowerment,’ bringing together senior policymakers, academic leaders and industry experts to explore how Europe’s approach to digital child safety can both protect and empower the next generation. The occasion was the visit of Andras Molnar, senior digital policy manager and director of online safety at the Technical University of Munich Think Tank and affiliate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society, who presented Frontiers in Digital Child Safety, a new landmark study calling for a fundamental policy shift from mere protection to engagement.

The discussion was further enriched by the perspectives of Leanda Barrington-Leach, executive director, 5Rights Foundation; Egelyn Braun, member of the cabinet of Commissioner Michael McGrath, democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection, European Commission; Beatrijs Gelders, senior policy and advocacy officer, Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union (COFACE Families Europe); Martin Harris Hess, head of sector, protection of minors, directorate-general for communications networks, content and technology, European Commission; Vasiliki Margariti, digital and artificial intelligence attaché, Permanent Representation of Greece to the European Union; Maria Niestadt, policy analyst, digital policies unit, European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS); Francesca Pisanu, European Union advocacy officer, Eurochild; and Mads Vigsø Bendsen, media and tech attaché, Permanent Representation of Denmark to the European Union, among others.