This UNICEF report analyses how companies disclose their impacts on children’s rights within the digital environment. It finds that despite children’s deep integration into digital technologies, most companies provide little to no meaningful reporting on how their products, services, and business models affect children. Of 195 reports from 95 companies reviewed, only 27% contained meaningful disclosures, with the majority focusing narrowly on child sexual abuse material (CSAM) rather than a holistic child‑rights perspective. Telecommunications and large platform companies disclose the most, while AI, EdTech, and connected‑device companies disclose almost nothing despite their significant influence on children’s lives.
The report highlights regulatory developments—such as the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and national online safety laws—that increasingly require companies to assess and report risks to children. However, existing standards lack specific guidance on child‑rights impacts in digital contexts, leaving companies uncertain about what to report.
The analysis emphasizes the need for Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs), stronger due diligence, and consistent, comparable reporting. More robust transparency benefits companies by improving risk management, preparing them for regulation, and fostering safer digital environments for children.
This UNICEF–NBIM publication outlines comprehensive disclosure recommendations for companies to report on child rights impacts within the digital environment. It presents 12 core disclosures across governance, strategy, and metrics, supported by detailed guidance on safeguarding children online. The framework emphasizes integrating child rights into due diligence, ensuring safe product design, addressing harmful content, protecting privacy, preventing exploitation, and promoting equitable access and well‑being. It aligns with major reporting standards, including ESRS, IFRS, GRI, and the Digital Services Act. Overall, the recommendations aim to strengthen transparency, accountability and child-centered practices across all digital business activities.
This guidance supports companies in implementing UNICEF’s disclosure recommendations on child rights in the digital environment. It explains the importance of robust reporting, outlines target audiences, and provides practical steps for preparing meaningful, responsible disclosures. Emphasizing double materiality, it helps businesses integrate child rights into governance, strategy, risk assessment and performance measurement. The guidance clarifies key concepts, offers tips for data use and stakeholder engagement, and highlights how disclosures strengthen accountability, regulatory readiness and industry-wide learning. Overall, it equips companies to understand, communicate and improve their impacts on children across digital products, services and operations
FORUT’s Child Rights Programme emphasises children’s protection, participation, and wellbeing, particularly in relation to harmful environments, including digital ones. This report provides evidence and guidance highly relevant to FORUT’s advocacy and programme development: (1) strengthening advocacy on corporate accountability, (2) addressing digital harms linked to alcohol marketing, substance use, violence, and exploitation, and (3) building multi-stakeholder alliances.
These documents underscore the role of investors, NGOs, and regulators, aligning with FORUT’s approach of partnering with global and national actors to improve children’s wellbeing.