Children’s safety in the digital environment became the main topic of a conference held last week in Oslo, Norway. European regulators, experts, and representatives of the member countries of the European Audiovisual Observatory discussed how to protect minors from online risks without restricting their right to information, communication, and participation in public life. The 75th meeting of the Observatory’s Executive Council, of which Ukraine is a member, also took place in Oslo. Valentyn Koval, First Deputy Chair of the National Council, joined the events.
The events in Oslo were organized by the Norwegian Media Authority (Medietilsynet) as part of Norway’s Presidency of the Observatory in 2026.
Opening the conference “Protecting Young People from Online Harm in an Open and Safe Public Space,” Director General of the Norwegian Media Authority (Medietilsynet) Mari Velsand emphasized that safeguarding children and young people online has become one of Europe’s key challenges. Children enter the digital environment at a very early age: in Norway, 9 out of 10 children aged 9-10 already have mobile phones, and half of them use social media. Online platforms provide young people with opportunities for communication, creativity, and participation in public life, but at the same time they carry risks. Therefore, according to her, Europe needs a comprehensive approach: effective regulation, media literacy, and education that will help combine a child’s right to freedom of expression with their right to safety.
The participants of the conference discussed how to protect children and adolescents on the Internet without restricting their access to information, education, communication, and civic participation. This is one of the main challenges for European regulators.
“Protecting children online is not a new topic for Europe, but today its scale and complexity have significantly increased. Whereas harmful content on television used to be the main challenge, children now interact with many platforms and sources of information. Our task is to find a balance between children’s safety, their right to participate in digital life, and the responsibility of states, regulators, platforms, and society,” emphasized Maja Cappello, who is currently serving as Acting Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory.
The conference addressed harmful content, disinformation, cyberbullying, hate speech, manipulative attention‑retention mechanisms, the functioning of algorithms, and the issue of age verification. Attention was also given to the responsibility of digital platforms. After all, a child may formally not have access to a certain service but still create an account in practice. A platform may have safety rules, but it does not always ensure their effective implementation.
Deputy Head of the Department for Legal Information of the European Audiovisual Observatory Sophie Valais presented the European legal framework for protecting children in the digital environment, which covers the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the Digital Services Act, the Artificial Intelligence Act, the European Media Freedom Act, and consumer protection rules. She noted that the Directive sets requirements for protecting minors from harmful content, the Digital Services Act strengthens the responsibility of major online platforms for risks to children, and the Artificial Intelligence Act regulates risks related to algorithms, profiling, and recommender systems.
In Europe, the approach to protecting children has changed significantly. Previously, the main focus was on removing individual harmful content. Now the attention is on digital platforms themselves: how algorithms work, how platforms assess risks, how they verify users’ age, what tools they provide to children and parents, and whether their rules truly protect minors. All activities are based on regular research and surveys of both children and adolescents, as well as those who interact with them throughout the day. The Digital Omnibus (a system of laws and regulations governing digital platforms and relations in the digital space) is an important instrument for EU countries to influence platforms.
For Ukraine, this topic is both relevant and important, yet the country does not have such a legislative framework or influence and will not until it joins the EU. In the meantime, Ukrainian children live in a digital environment that is heavily affected by the war. In addition to typical online risks, they are confronted with Russian propaganda, hate speech, traumatic content, disinformation, and attempts to undermine Ukrainian identity. Therefore, the safety of Ukrainian children in the media is part of the country’s information security.
“The experience of Europeans shows that legislative instruments are only part of the means of protecting children. Equally important is the involvement of many institutions – social, academic, and regulatory – in coordinated actions. They are compelled to acknowledge that it is very difficult to counter global businesses whose goal is to profit from people’s vulnerabilities. Only coordinated actions can protect the younger generation. This is the main conclusion of all the discussions, where efforts are made to develop tools for the entire continent based on local‑level research,” noted Valentyn Koval.
The National Council is working in this area both as a regulator and as a platform for professional dialogue with the media, experts, psychologists, and the civil sector. The main focus of this work is on creating safe content for children’s audiences, responsible coverage of sensitive topics, preventing media‑related traumatization of children, countering stereotypes, and promoting media literacy.
Last week, the 75th meeting of the Executive Council of the European Audiovisual Observatory was also held in Oslo. The National Council took part in the meeting as the body representing Ukraine in the Observatory.
During the meeting, participants discussed current issues in the development of the audiovisual sector, trends in European regulation, the safety of the digital environment for children and young people, as well as further cooperation among the Observatory’s member countries. Conceptual aspects of amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the progress of implementing the European Media Freedom Act in Council of Europe member states were also addressed.
For Ukraine, participation in the work of the European Audiovisual Observatory provides an opportunity to be part of the common European conversation about the future of media. At the same time, it also allows Ukraine to speak with partners about its own experience, the work of media during the war, and the information crimes committed by the aggressor state.
