Authors: Natascha Gerlach and Jasmina Byrne A case for safe participation over exclusion Recent proposals to restrict minors’ access to social media reflect legitimate concerns about children’s online safety and reflect growing public demand for stronger protections. From Australia to Europe, governments are increasingly turning to age-based restrictions as a way to reduce online harms. The debate, however, has become too […]

CIPL’s response commends the ANPD for a thoughtful, evidence-informed, and risk-based draft. In particular, we welcome: • the recognition that age verification “is not an end in itself” but rather one pillar of a broader protective ecosystem; • the structuring of the framework around proportionality and a risk taxonomy; • the clear preference for privacy-preserving […]

In this response, CIPL commended the ANPD for seeking to provide greater predictability and legal certainty for regulated entities through clear definitions and interpretive criteria, and we encouraged the agency to further strengthen the guidelines by: Clarifying the guidance-oriented nature of the document Preserving the cumulative likely-access test Framing presumptions as rebuttable Providing procedural safeguards […]

Our response builds upon last summer’s detailed submission, which first addressed the development of a Code. The Draft Code reflects a number of the positions raised in our earlier submission, and we commended the OAIC for its responsiveness on issues related to the best interests of the child, age-appropriate transparency, and children’s autonomy. Notwithstanding these […]

CIPL’s response draws on our extensive work on accountability, age assurance, and responsible data use, and makes several key points, including: The need for a holistic, multistakeholder approach to children’s online safety — one in which industry provides safe and well-designed services, regulators set outcome-driven standards, parents and caregivers are equipped with the tools and […]

These key takeaways come from a roundtable held on June 13 in Brussels, in collaboration with the WeProtect Global Alliance. CIPL and WeProtect explored what a broader, interoperable framework for age assurance could look like, while ensuring privacy, user autonomy, and transparency. Key takeaways from the Workshop on Interoperability: Key elements that could still be […]

Following our series of Multistakeholder Dialogue workshops on Age Assurance, CIPL and WeProtect produced this paper to explore what a broader, interoperable framework for age assurance could look like, while ensuring privacy, user autonomy, and transparency.

On October 29, 2025, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (CIPL) hosted an immersive, full-day roundtable—an exclusive “CIPL In Focus” event—to examine the practical and legal challenges stemming from legislative and regulatory efforts to make the internet a safer space for children and teens. The event was held at Snap Inc.’s conference facilities in Santa […]

These key takeaways from CIPL’s Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Age Assurance – Working Group on Risk Assessments, held on 19 September 2024 in Brussels and online, in collaboration with the WeProtect Global Alliance highlight the following themes from the discussion: Identifying current challenges Overarching considerations Balancing safety and privacy Implementing accountability and governance measures Embedding risk […]

This roundtable, hosted in partnership with the WeProtect Global Alliance brought together leaders from industry, academia, and civil society as part of our Working Group on Global & Regional Perspectives on Age Assurance to explore global and regional perspectives on age assurance, particularly in the context of emerging legislation in the United States. While the […]

Legislation requiring the use of age assurance or age verification measures to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate or otherwise harmful content is gaining traction in the United States, especially at the state level. To coincide with the publication of our paper on ‘Age Assurance & Age Verification Laws in the United States, CIPL hosted an […]

Legislation requiring the use of age assurance or age verification measures to promote safe online experiences for children and young people is gaining traction in the United States. At the time of publishing, 21 states have enacted laws with age assurance provisions, but there remains little agreement among states regarding the methods or tools to […]

On 11th July 2024, CIPL and the WeProtect Global Alliance hosted the second multi-stakeholder dialogue in an ongoing global dialogue involving key stakeholders on age assurance. This second multi-stakeholder dialogue served as the inaugural meeting of the law and regulation working group, which was formed to drive the development of consensus-based principles that can inform […]

Digital age assurance is a complex and sensitive issue, requiring a careful balancing of rights and risks. In order to better understand the current state of play – challenges and opportunities – and to advance a holistic and principles-based approach, CIPL partnered with the WeProtect Global Alliance to host a series of workshops which brought […]

Complying with the growing number of laws on children’s privacy in the global marketplace is an increasingly complex undertaking. It involves reconciling measures to protect children from online harm and intrusions into their privacy with the equally important necessity for children to participate and engage online and to access beneficial or even essential online resources. […]

Personal data relating to children are processed for many purposes by private and public sector organizations, including the provision of online and offline services, education, social care, healthcare and personal welfare, and as part of information on family circumstances. In some cases, the processing will include special categories of personal data. CIPL recognizes that the […]