ABSTRACT
Recent policy documents at international and European level emphasise how essential internet access is for the realisation of children’s rights, and more specifically for purposes of inclusion, education, participation and communication. Schools impose the use of online learning platforms, friendships are maintained predominantly through mobile apps and online gaming platforms have taken over from playgrounds. Amidst this digital transformation, the fundamental question emerges whether children should have a right not to use the internet.
Starting from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), this chapter scrutinises the profound pervasiveness of the internet in various dimensions of children’s lives and investigates how the established debates on the importance of provision of internet access to children and protection from risks through restricting access and use are linked to the emerging discussions on the right not to use the internet for children. We argue that the UNCRC does provide incentives for states to offer children offline alternatives in an increasingly digital world and that states which might want children not to use the internet in order to mitigate a negative impact will be able to rely on existing UNCRC obligations in order to do so. When considering such measures, children should be consulted.
