21 Sep 2026 Karen Tindall, Bowen Fung, Hannah Bellier, Emily Evans, Alex Gyani Publisher BIT

https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un-information-integrity-issue-brief-03.pdf
Children and youth often bear the brunt of risks in today’s information ecosystem and will be most directly affected by the technologies reshaping them, according to this new issue brief launched on 10 August 2026 by the United Nations Department of Global Communications.
The paper, launched ahead of International Youth Day (12 August), applies the United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity to children’s rights and youth engagement. Strengthening Information Integrity: Issue Brief 3 urges governments, technology companies, advertisers, media and researchers to advance protection and participation together.
It follows the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ call last month, at the opening of the inaugural Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, for an AI Child Safety Pledge covering any system a child can reach.

Estimates of children’s experiences and perceptions of safety online and in their daily lives, in England and Wales.

YouTube improved protections for teens from harmful eating disorder videos after regulation. But CCDH’s new research shows it is not enough.

UNESCO has released this new research report shedding light on the growing influence, practices and challenges of digital content creators within South Africa’s evolving information ecosystem.
Conducted by the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) with the support of UNESCO’s Social Media 4 Peace” (SM4P) project, funded by the European Union, the study examines the motivations, Media and Information Literacy (MIL) competencies, ethical practices and challenges of digital content creators in South Africa. The research draws on a nationwide survey of 48 content creators and in-depth interviews with 11 creators.
The findings show that while mainstream news media remains an important source of information for South African content creators, creators are increasingly conducting their own research, drawing on personal experiences and consulting knowledgeable experts. This reflects the expanding role creators play in how information is produced, interpreted and shared with online audiences.

How digital technologies enable child sexual abuse

The report combines children’s testimonies with one of the largest bodies of available survey data to warn of a widespread trend of child sexual abuse and exploitation – both online and offline – enabled by technology.
The report estimates that over 15 million children were exposed to unwanted sexual content, 9 million were asked to engage in sexual conversations or share sexual images against their will, and 4 million children had sexual images of themselves shared without their consent. However, the true scale of the issue is likely far higher due to underreporting by children.

congressional research reports

This report emerges from an Australian longitudinal survey project that has tracked the news engagement of young people aged 10 to 17 years since 2017 – examining their news practices, attitudes, knowledge and experiences. The survey findings have been used by policymakers, educators and a range of stakeholders who design and deliver news literacy initiatives.

The surveys have shown that, as young people move into their teenage years, they rely less on their families and teachers to get news, and their news engagement becomes more digital and more independent. This raises questions about how they have been prepared for this change, if at all. 

This year's survey asked new questions to understand the impact of the legislated social media ban for young people aged under 16 years, which took effect in December 2025.

Amends the Online Safety Act 2021 in relation to the operation of the social media minimum age framework by expanding the eSafety Commissioner’s information-gathering powers and increasing civil penalties for non-compliance.

A media literacy pilot program run through public libraries has been a resounding success, suggesting library staff and patrons want and need these resources.