Joined by Baroness Shields, the UK’s Minister for Internet Safety and Security and Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, Baroness Kidron outlined the 5Rights framework and the five 5Rights principles.
As she explained, 5Rights is a civil society initiative that seeks to make the digital world a more transparent and empowering place for children and young people (under 18) by delivering a universal framework of digital rights, in order that young people are able to access digital technologies creatively, knowledgeably and fearlessly.
The 5Rights principles interweave to tackle the multiple issues of digital engagement and include:
The Right to REMOVE
Every child and young person should have the right to easily edit or delete all content they have created
The Right to KNOW
Children and young people have the right to know who is holding or profiting from their information, what their information is being used for and whether it is being copied, sold or traded.
The Right to SAFETY AND SUPPORT
Children and young people should be confident that they will be protected from illegal practices and supported if confronted by troubling or upsetting scenarios online.
The Right to INFORMED AND CONSCIOUS CHOICES
Children and young people should be empowered to reach into creative places online, but at the same time have the capacity and support to easily disengage
THE Right to DIGITAL LITERACY
To access the knowledge that the Internet can deliver, children and young people need to be taught the skills to use, create and critique digital technologies, and given the tools to negotiate changing social norms.
The 5Rights report outlines that responsibility for such a diverse set of needs cannot be delivered by any one stakeholder therefore the framework provides a set of principles by which governments, corporations, adults, parents and young people should negotiate their online engagement.