New guidance on children's rights in the digital environment

Today, Norges Bank Investment Management and UNICEF launch a new set of disclosure recommendations designed to help companies better report on how they impact children's rights in the digital environment. This is the result of close collaboration with companies and civil society organisations. The initiative aims to foster discussion and encourage transparency by providing child rights-based disclosures that companies can use to enhance their reporting efforts.

More than 175,000 children go online for the first time every day, yet an analysis of 195 corporate reports from UNICEF and BSR reveals that less than a third contained meaningful information about children's rights online. Children represent over 30% of the world's population, with an increasing proportion actively using digital services, yet they face growing risks of exploitation, surveillance, harmful content, and discrimination online.

Respecting children’s rights is an integral part of good corporate practice whilst mismanagement of children’s rights can have adverse business implications and result in heightened reputational and litigation risk. Corporate transparency can reduce risks and shareholder concerns.

These recommendations are designed to be relevant for all companies across sectors and markets, recognising the increased importance of digital technology across most industries. The guidance emphasises core principles including putting children's best interests first, protecting privacy through aggregated data, and ensuring accessibility and transparency.

“This guidance provides practical support for companies that want to show the efforts they are making to respect children's rights in the digital sphere " says Carine Smith Ihenacho, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at NBIM.

You can access the disclosure recommendations and guidance documents here.