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I. Scope of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
While digitalization has strengthened children's rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and participation, it has also created new areas of risk such as violations of privacy, cyberbullying, online sexual abuse, and algorithmic manipulation. In this article, an examination will be conducted by demonstrating that the international framework regarding the protection of children in the digital world has been concretized through the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ("CRC"), to which Türkiye is a party, and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment No. 25 on "Children's Rights in Relation to the Digital Environment" ("General Comment").
The CRC constitutes a milestone in the international recognition and protection of children's rights. Explaining what the rights and freedoms granted to everyone under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mean for children and setting forth provisions on how these rights and freedoms are to be implemented for children, the CRC is the most fundamental legal instrument safeguarding children's rights under international law.1
The most critical intersection points of the CRC with digital risks are as follows:
Obligation to Protect from Violence (Art. 19): Cyberbullying is addressed as a form of online violence that harms the child's psychological and social development through acts such as threats, persistent harassment, hate speech, and dissemination of degrading content. Under this provision, the State's duty is not limited to punishment; it also includes prevention, awareness-raising, early intervention, and the establishment of support mechanisms for child victims.
Right to Privacy (Art. 16): Practices such as the unauthorized sharing of children's images, disclosure of personal data, and dissemination of location/identity information are typical tools of digital bullying. The protection of privacy must be addressed in a multilayered manner, from platform design to school policies and legal remedies. Although parents often act in good faith by sharing significant moments of their children online, the permanence of such content in the digital environment and its wide accessibility may give rise to various risks. Photographs or information shared without the child's consent may be used for identity theft, cyberbullying, or unlawful purposes, potentially resulting in violations of the child's right to privacy.
II. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child – General Comment No. 25
The General Comment of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is a fundamental reference explaining how children's rights should be implemented in the digital environment. This document emphasizes that States must go beyond general principles and establish a framework requiring preventive-by-design measures, transparency, accessible complaint mechanisms, rapid response procedures, and effective sanctions with respect to digital service providers/platforms. Furthermore, in cases of peer-to-peer digital bullying, policy frameworks prioritizing restorative approaches that avoid criminalizing children as much as possible are recommended.
According to paragraph 9 of the General Comment, States Parties are under an obligation to prohibit discrimination in the digital environment. The prohibition of discrimination in digital environments requires States Parties to ensure equal and effective access for all children to the digital environment in a manner that is meaningful to them.
Although the concept of the best interests of the child is not explicitly defined in the Convention itself, the General Comment describes it as a dynamic concept requiring context-specific assessment and stipulates that States Parties must prioritize the best interests of every child in all actions related to the provision, regulation, design, management, and use of the digital environment.
Articles 19 and 34 of the CRC are closely related to the protection of the right to safety in digital environments. Article 19 imposes on States Parties the general obligation to protect children against all forms of physical and psychological violence, abuse, neglect, and maltreatment, while Article 34 guarantees protection against sexual exploitation and abuse. Article 19 encompasses digital threats such as online abuse and cyberbullying, whereas sexual threats in digital environments fall within the scope of Article 34.2
III. International Legal Measures
In recent years, the global trend has been to move away from treating online child risks, including cyberbullying, as merely individual user behavior and instead address them through systemic risk management obligations imposed on platforms.
European Union ("EU"): The provisions of the Digital Services Act ("DSA") concerning the protection of minors require platforms accessible to children to implement measures ensuring a high level of privacy, safety, and security (Article 28). In addition, guidelines published by the European Commission3 in 2025 highlight practices such as age assurance/age verification, child-appropriate default settings, and child-friendly complaint/reporting mechanisms.
United Kingdom: Regulations impose obligations on platforms to prevent harmful content directed at children, mitigate risks, ensure reporting mechanisms, and provide transparency. This approach presents a model that increases "platform responsibility" in combating cyberbullying.
United States of America ("USA"): The current approach in the USA aims to strengthen oversight through the expansion of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which seeks to protect the personal data of children under the age of 13 online, the enactment of state laws imposing algorithmic and design responsibilities on platforms, and litigation initiated against major technology companies. Regulatory and litigation processes aimed at age verification, restrictions on targeted advertising, and increasing the legal liability of platforms for content and designs that may harm children have gained momentum.
IV. Legal Framework and Recent Developments in Türkiye
In Türkiye, the main legislative backbone in combating digital risks is Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed through Such Publications ("Law No. 5651"), along with its additional obligations concerning social network providers. Rather than defining a single offense directly labeled as "cyberbullying," different legal remedies apply depending on the nature of the incident: content removal/access blocking procedures, protection of personality rights, unlawful processing/disclosure of personal data, threats/insults, etc.
The "Action Plan for the Empowerment of Children in the Digital World (2026–2030)" published by the Ministry of Family and Social Services emphasizes that digital risks should not be managed solely through parental supervision but through cooperation among the State, private sector, education system, and civil society.
Obligations of Social Network Providers under Law No. 5651: The Law provides mechanisms such as information-sharing obligations, compliance audits, crisis planning, and administrative sanctions. It also includes provisions regarding specific measures for children and child-oriented service delivery. Within this framework, potentially harmful content may be removed within a short period through an application to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace. Article 8 of the Law may be applied insofar as it corresponds to the circumstances of the concrete case.
Data Protection (KVKK) Dimension: Announcements and guidance issued by the Personal Data Protection Authority regarding the protection of children's personal data on social media increase the importance of the data protection perspective in digital bullying cases (e.g., disclosure, fake accounts, unauthorized sharing).
New Regulation: The draft law titled "Protection of Children and Youth in Digital Environments," submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in January 2026, aims to strengthen obligations concerning the protection of children in digital environments through clearer rules. The draft envisages restrictions on the time children spend on social media and video games. Service providers that refrain from implementing such restrictions may face administrative fines of up to TRY 5 million.
V. Examples of Implementation and Sanctions
In the United Kingdom, the data protection authority, the Information Commissioner's Office, imposed an administrative fine of £13 million on TikTok for the unlawful processing of children's data. In the EU, Ireland's Data Protection Commission imposed a €345 million fine4 on TikTok for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) concerning the processing of children's data. Furthermore, the European Commission has initiated formal proceedings against TikTok under the DSA, with the protection of children and platform design risks among the investigation topics. These developments demonstrate that the global approach to protecting children in digital environments is no longer limited to identifying individual violations; platform design, default settings, and algorithmic systems are also subject to legal scrutiny.
VI. Conclusion
The protection of children in the digital world is no longer solely a matter of parental responsibility or individual precautions; it has evolved into a multilayered legal field requiring the shared responsibility of States, international organizations, and technology companies. While United Nations and European Union regulations impose greater obligations on platforms at the international level, protection mechanisms in Türkiye are being strengthened within the framework of Law No. 5651, the Turkish Penal Code, and the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK).
In the upcoming period, age verification systems, algorithmic transparency, artificial intelligence applications, and limitations on the commercial use of children's data will increasingly come to the forefront. Accordingly, the protection of children in digital environments will continue to gain importance as a dynamic and continuously evolving field from both a human rights and technology law perspective.
Footnotes
1. Akyüz, Emine: Çocuk Hukuku Çocukların Hakları ve Korunması, 2. Baskı, Pegem Akademi, 2012, s. 37; İpek, Aydın: "Çocuk Haklarının Gelişimi ve Karşılaştırmalı Olarak Anayasal Açıdan Değerlendirilmesi": Selçuk Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, C. 20, S. 1, 2012, s. 159; Becker, Jo: "The Evolution of the Children's Rights Movement", The Oxford Handbook of Children's Rights Law, (Jonathan Todres, M. King Shani ed.), Oxford University Press, 2020, s. 34.
2. Sommer, Bahar Birleşmiş Milletler Çocuk Hakları Komitesi'nin 25 No'lu Genel Yorumu Çerçevesinde Dijital Ortamda Çocuk Haklarının Korunmasında Mahremiyet, Güvenlik ve Bilgiye Erişim Dengesi, İnsan Hakları Yıllığı Cilt 42, Sayı 2 - 2024, s. 123-154
3. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/commission-publishes-guidelines-protection-minors
4. https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/news-media/press-releases/DPC-announces-345-million-euro-fine-of-TikTok
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