The government is taking a comprehensive approach to protecting children’s rights online. It aims to ensure children enjoy the same protection and opportunities online as offline. On 5 October 2026, the government submitted the revised Strategy on Children’s Rights Online (Dutch) to the House of Representatives. The strategy focuses on making digital services safer, supporting parents and caregivers, strengthening digital skills, and involving children and young people. It is built around 5 pillars:
1. Legislation, enforcement and compliance
Children must be adequately protected online. This requires clear rules, effective monitoring, and enforcement. The government is working to strengthen children’s protection under existing legislation and to introduce additional rules where necessary. Key measures include:
- Stronger EU rules for digital services. The government is advocating additional safeguards for children through EU legislation, including the proposed EU KIDS Act. These safeguards include stricter safety requirements for digital service design, measures to tackle addictive design practices, and protection from unwanted contact.
- A European minimum age for social media. Together with Spain, the Netherlands has proposed a European minimum age for certain digital services, with as few exceptions as possible. Providers should be required to demonstrate that their services are safe for children, and age verification must be privacy-friendly.
- Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs). These assessments examine how digital services affect children’s rights and wellbeing. Their findings help companies and regulators make digital services safer for children.
- Better enforcement of existing rules. EU legislation, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), already places obligations on online platforms regarding safety, privacy and the protection of minors. The government is committed to ensuring effective supervision and enforcement.
2. Supporting parents and educators
Parents and caregivers play an important role in guiding children through the digital world. They need accessible information, practical tools and support to help them talk to their children about online behaviour, opportunities and risks. The government is supporting them through several initiatives:
- ‘Stay in the Picture’ campaign: This campaign helps parents stay involved in their children’s online lives. It provides practical tips and guidance on discussing smartphone use, online experiences and the opportunities and risks of digital media. The second phase of the campaign began in August 2026.
- Your Child Online platform: In partnership with the Dutch Media Literacy Network, the government provides accessible information, practical tips and parents’ experiences on digital parenting through jouwkindonline.nl.
- Guidelines on Healthy Screen Use: These guidelines (Dutch) provide practical advice for parents, caregivers and youth professionals on healthy screen and digital media use.
- Digital Kijkwijzer: The Dutch Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM) is developing a digital classification tool to help parents, caregivers and children navigate social media.
3. Education as the foundation for digital resilience
Children need the skills to use digital technology consciously, critically and responsibly. Education plays an important role. The government is therefore working to strengthen digital literacy and children’s digital resilience. Key measures include:
- Digital literacy in education: The government is working to give digital skills a stronger place in the curriculum. Children should learn how digital technology works, how to use and design it, and how it affects them and society.
- Mobile phones at school: ‘Thuis of in de kluis’ (‘At home or in your locker’). Since 1 January 2024, national agreements have prohibited mobile phones and other devices in secondary school classrooms, unless they are being used for educational purposes. This agreement has since also been introduced in primary education. The government wants to tighten the rules by introducing an ‘At home or in your locker’ policy, under which students cannot use mobile phones throughout the school day, including during breaks. The aim is to introduce the stricter policy on 1 January 2027. The State Secretary for Education and Equality is working with the education sector to agree on its implementation.
4. Involving children, young people, and educators as partners
Children and young people have first-hand experience of using digital services and understanding the opportunities and risks they present. Their experiences and ideas are therefore essential to developing and implementing policy. Parents and caregivers should also be involved. The government is pursuing several initiatives:
- Youth Council on Digitalisation: Together with UNICEF, the government established the Youth Council on Digitalisation. Four times a year, young people meet policymakers and experts to discuss current issues relating to digitalisation and children’s online rights. Their insights and recommendations inform policy development.
- Parents’ Council: The government is working to establish a Parents’ Council on Children’s Rights Online, providing a permanent forum for parents and carers to share their experiences and ideas and contribute to policy development.
- Young people as partners in finding solutions: Young people are involved in developing solutions to current challenges, including cyberbullying, online hate, harmful content and inappropriate online behaviour.
- Research and monitoring: The government aims to better understand children’s and parents’ experiences of the digital world. Research and monitoring help track developments and ensure that policies reflect the needs of children and those raising them.
5. Facilitating and strengthening collaboration between network partners
Creating a safe digital environment for children requires cooperation between many different parties. The government cannot achieve this alone. Digital companies, regulators, schools, parents, researchers and civil society organisations all have an important role to play.
The government therefore encourages closer cooperation to share knowledge and experience, identify emerging risks, and ensure that existing initiatives complement one another. It also promotes European and international cooperation, as digital services and the risks associated with them frequently cross national borders.
Cooperation between government departments
The Strategy on Children’s Rights Online is a joint initiative involving several government departments. The Minister for the Digital Economy and Sovereignty coordinates its implementation and ensures a coherent approach across different policy areas.
The departments involved include the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), the Ministry of Justice and Security (JenV), the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), and the Ministry of Finance. Each department remains responsible for implementing policy within its own area of responsibility.
