International Declaration on the Human Rights of Children in the Digital Age update

A4RT – 02nov2024

We’re pleased to see the International Declaration on the Human Rights of Children in the Digital Age continue to make its way around the world, including this recent video from the Czech Republic below

The Declaration, signed by thousands of medical and scientific professionals and advocates from around the world, calls for reasonable protections for children, including the right to be free from addictive platforms and apps; the right to be free from hazardous radiation from wireless devices; and the right to be free from commercial exploitation of private information. Learn more at the Declaration website.

LVsA – Following is an auto translation of Czech comments supporting the video.

Supplementing the 1959 UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child

The International Declaration was launched in the autumn of 2023. It is addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Member States of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the UN Commission on Human Rights, UNICEF, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, WHO and all others responsible for the protection, safety and well-being of children.

Awareness:

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees non-discrimination, respect for the best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development, and respect for the views of the child. Other international calls recognize additional or complementary rights for children, such as the European Union Action on the Rights of the Child and the Reykjavik Call on Wireless Technology in Schools.

The existence of children’s legal rights is well known, but they are not sufficiently and uniformly enforced, especially when these rights conflict with powerful commercial interests. In this document, the drafters of the Declaration list three fundamental legal rights of children regarding the adoption and use of technology: their right not to be intentionally exposed to addictive devices, platforms and applications, their right not to be exposed to harmful radiation, and their right not to be commercially exploited.

It is the legal duty of all adults, especially parents, legal guardians and others in a position of authority, to protect children and to enforce these rights on their behalf. This protection of children is a fundamental legal principle that the authors predict will increasingly be recognized as part of customary international law that can be recognized and applied by all states on earth.

Three problems:

1 – Social media platforms are deliberately designed with algorithms that encourage addiction in young people and children. The harmful effects of excessive screen time are well documented in the scientific literature.

2 – A large and growing body of independent, peer-reviewed scientific studies demonstrates that man-made non-ionising radiation has adverse biological effects on human health. The increasing number of wireless devices in and near homes, schools, day-care centers, and workplaces, along with the supporting telecommunications infrastructure, is increasing children’s continuous and cumulative exposure to radiation. Children are the most vulnerable to wireless radiation. Their anatomy is fragile and their bodies develop into adulthood. They absorb many times more radiation into their heads and bodies than adults.

3 – In most countries, confidential and private personal information about children is being monetized by data collectors without the informed consent of parents, guardians and other responsible parties, in direct contravention of national and international policies, laws and regulations that protect children’s privacy.

Numerous translations of the Declaration can be found on the Declaration’s official website.

If you know of an organization or professionals in the fields of health, education, or public law, recommend a declaration for them to sign.

Source – (A4RT) Americans for Responsible Technology news letter 02nov2024 – YouTube video supporting Czech comments.