ABSTRACT:
Laws have a quintessential role in maintaining society’s order and harmony. The most important legal challenge of the 21st century is how to regulate the rapidly changing digital environment. As the digital revolution has transformed networking, data exchange, and operation efficiency, it has also exposed children to novel cyber threats such as deepfake manipulation, encrypted crime, cross-border cybercrime, and identity fraud. This paper through a non-doctrinal research methodology and empirical evidence examines how legislation, cybersecurity, and law enforcement can combine to safeguard children online.
This study explores a global comparative study in digital child protection law, comparing frameworks from the European Union’s GDPR, the United States’ COPPA system, Australia’s Online Safety Act, and state-regulated internet governance in Russia and China. Japan leads the pack in AI-driven cybercrime policing. The paper presents a case study on Karnataka’s Cyber Crime Division, highlights use of AI-based forensic technology, dark web monitoring, and blockchain tracking in the dismantling of child exploitation rings. Furthermore, this study explores international human rights conventions, notably the UNCRC, in placing the imperative need, internationally harmonized child protection systems, at the forefront. Looking ahead, we require a balance of innovation and safety. With the metaverse, AI, and data analytics on the rise, the digital landscape is transforming at lightning speed. That calls for regulatory response at breakneck speed—the rollout of ethical AI, child-friendly coding, and greater control over privacy. Collective action by policymakers, tech companies, teachers, and parents are necessary to build a safer digital world, one focused on digital literacy, with tough online protections in place, and safeguarding children’s fundamental rights.
Key words: AI Governance, Karnataka Cyber Crime Division, Global Cyber Laws, Predictive Policing and Metaverse Safety.
- Introduction
1.1 Background: Digital Transformation and the Vulnerability of Children Online The Digital Revolution in the 21st century has altered communication and social interaction, as technological progress with developments such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and metaverse has made existing legislation lag behind, resulting in enforcement blind spots.Digital environment can become an unsafe space for minors,from data exploitation and online grooming to deepfake pornography and cyberbullying.Globally, children can now access the internet at young ages. According to a 2023 report by UNICEF, over 80% of children in developed nations and over 50% in developing nations have access tothe internet daily[1].
1.2 Rationale: Why Children’s Digital Rights Demand Urgent Attention
The digital domain is no longer a luxury or a supplement to childhood but an integral part of it. Children use digital tools for education, socialisation, entertainment, and self-expression. However, the same can serve as conduits for cyber exploitation, radicalisation, and privacy breaches. As a minor, not being an adult who can comprehend, do not understand the implications of sharing biometric data or even, for matter, consent[2]. The failure to regulate may impactchildren’s developmentand long-term well-being.We may risk fostering a generation exposed to trauma, surveillance, and exploitation under the guise of connectivity and innovation.Legal systems must evolve from reactive to anticipatory paradigms.
[1]UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Every Right in the Digital Age, U.N. Doc. E/ICEF/2023/18 (2023).
[2]Sonia Livingstone & John Carr, Children’s Rights in the Digital Age: A Download from Children Around the World, LSE Policy Brief (2022).