KUALA LUMPUR – As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes children’s online experiences, experts believe that online safety laws can no longer focus solely on social media, warning that regulation must evolve to keep pace with the technology.
The issue emerged as a key theme during a panel discussion at the Online Safety by Design conference, held in conjunction with the International Regulatory Conference 2026 (IRC 2026) yesterday. Speakers said AI is fundamentally reshaping how children interact with the internet, making it impossible to separate AI governance from broader online safety policies.
UNICEF Malaysia chief of child protection Saskia Blume warned that AI is becoming part of children’s everyday lives far more quickly than many governments are prepared for.
“This panel is around platform regulation, and we’re talking a lot about the Online Safety Act and discussions around social media. But at the same time, we’re seeing AI taking over our lives, and children are always early adopters,” she said.
Blume pointed to newly released UNICEF data showing that children are embracing AI significantly faster than adults.
“UNICEF published data about 10 days ago showing that children are adopting AI at a rate two to three times faster than adults. Yet in many AI governance discussions, we’re still not considering children,” she said.
Blume urged governments not to repeat the pattern seen during the emergence of social media, where regulation lagged behind technological adoption.
“We’re repeating the same pattern we saw with social media. In many countries, AI governance is already part and parcel of online safety discussions, and that’s really important because children are exposed to AI just as much as they are to social media,” she added.
Beyond regulating AI, Blume said governments should require technology companies to assess how their products affect children’s rights before launching new services.
She said child rights impact assessments should become standard practice, covering not only protection from harm but also privacy, education, freedom of expression and overall wellbeing.
“It’s very clear that the status quo is neither acceptable nor sustainable. When we talk about safety by design, what does that actually mean in practice?” she said.
Blume noted that children move seamlessly between social media, gaming platforms and messaging applications, making it ineffective to regulate only one type of online service.
“Children switch between gaming, different social media platforms and messaging apps. If we’re looking at this holistically, it has to start with safety by design,” she said.
The discussion also highlighted growing concerns over AI-driven age assurance technologies and the privacy risks they may pose.
While acknowledging that age assurance is becoming an important tool for protecting children online, Blume cautioned that governments must carefully balance safety with privacy rights.
Referring to international human rights principles, she said regulators should ensure any measures introduced are legal, necessary and proportionate.
She also pointed to overseas data breaches involving identity verification systems as a reminder that stronger protections can sometimes create new vulnerabilities if not carefully designed.
Australian High Commissioner Danielle Heinecke said Australia’s age assurance framework continues to evolve as authorities learn from its implementation.
“This legislation needs to keep evolving based on learning and implementation,” she said.
Heinecke explained that Australia’s approach places responsibility on platforms to prevent children under the age of 16 from creating accounts, rather than shifting the burden to parents.
She added that authorities are conducting long-term studies to assess both the intended and unintended consequences of the policy.
“We can’t do this without the research and studies that examine how implementation unfolds over time,” she said.
However, Heinecke stressed that legislation alone cannot solve online safety challenges.
“Let’s not think legislation and fines can solve every problem, and let’s not outsource our parenting completely,” she said.
The discussion was reinforced by Fuze Group Chief Strategy and Venture Officer Serena Sebastiani, who said child protection has become a key consideration in international AI governance.
She noted that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UNICEF and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child jointly issued a statement earlier this year urging technology companies to develop AI systems with children’s wellbeing at their core.
According to Sebastiani, AI now underpins almost every digital service, from streaming platforms to e-commerce, making it impossible to separate AI governance from broader online safety frameworks.
As governments continue refining online safety laws, panellists agreed that future regulation must address not only today’s social media platforms but also the AI technologies increasingly shaping how children learn, communicate and experience the digital world. – July 23, 2026