SAHRC to launch report on children’s online privacy and safety

What the report covers

The report records the outcomes of a multi-stakeholder conference and highlights the need to protect children as digital access and online participation increase. According to SAHRC spokesperson Wisani Baloyi, while online platforms can offer learning and creative opportunities, they also expose young users to a range of harms.

“While these platforms provide opportunities for learning, creativity, and empowerment, they also expose children to serious risks including cyberbullying, harmful content, exploitation, data misuse, and violations of their human rights, and in particular the right to privacy,” Baloyi said.

Legal gaps the report identifies

The SAHRC says the report identifies significant shortcomings in South Africa’s legal framework. The statutes named in the report include the Protection of Personal Information Act, the Films and Publications Amendment Act, the Cybercrimes Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. The commission states these laws, as they stand, leave children exposed to online harms.

Harms highlighted

Specifically, the report draws attention to several categories of harm to which children can be vulnerable online:

• Grooming and exploitation
• Cyberbullying
• Harmful content
• Addictive platform design
• Unconsented collection and posting of personal data

Who contributed to the conversation

The conference that produced the report brought together a range of participants to engage in a coordinated dialogue. According to the SAHRC, attendees included government departments, UN agencies, regulators, technology companies, civil society and children themselves. That mix of stakeholders informed the report’s findings and gave children a direct role in shaping its outcomes.

“It also includes the Children’s Declaration, adopted by child participants at the conference, setting out their own call to action to government, technology companies, schools, parents, and civil society,” Baloyi said.

Why the report matters

The SAHRC’s report arrives against a backdrop of expanding internet access and growing use of digital tools by young people. By documenting legal gaps and elevating the voices of children and sector experts, the commission aims to make the case for reform. The report’s focus on privacy alongside safety highlights the intersection between data protection and other forms of online harm.

From a practical perspective, naming specific statutes in need of scrutiny concentrates attention on where legislators, regulators and the private sector might focus reform efforts. It also frames the issue as multidisciplinary, requiring input from legal, educational and technological actors.

What stakeholders can do next (general context)

When an oversight body publishes findings that point to legislative gaps, several broadly available pathways are typically open to stakeholders. These include further public consultation, policy review by government, targeted regulatory guidance by agencies, and voluntary or enforced changes by online platforms. The SAHRC’s work including documenting children’s perspectives through a declaration is intended to inform those kinds of responses.

For parents, schools and civil society, the report underlines the ongoing need for awareness, education and practical measures to reduce risk while preserving the benefits of online participation for children. For technology companies and regulators, the report signals pressure to address how platform design, data practices and content moderation affect young users.

What the launch will do

The launch in Pretoria will make the SAHRC’s conference findings public and bring the report into the national conversation. Because the document was compiled by the commission’s Child Rights Unit and captures the outputs of a stakeholders’ meeting, it is positioned as a record of collective concern and a call for reform.

The SAHRC report highlights a central tension of the digital age: online platforms can expand opportunity for children while also exposing them to significant harms. By naming specific legal instruments and presenting a Children’s Declaration adopted by participants, the commission has framed a debate about how South Africa’s laws and policies should adapt to better protect young people online. The Pretoria launch will be the next step in making those findings and concerns widely available to policymakers, industry and the public.