Osinbajo Urges Tech Firms to Take Responsibility for Children’s Online Safety

Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has called on technology companies to take primary responsibility for protecting children from online risks, rather than placing the burden on parents and children.

Osinbajo made the call in Cairo, Egypt, while chairing a session on child rights and accountability in digital technology at the 16th Annual Conference of the Pan African Lawyers Union.

He said it was wrong for technology companies to design products with potential risks and then expect families to manage the consequences.

“We cannot build digital environments in which the risks are engineered into the product and then expect children and parents to carry the responsibility for managing those risks,” he said.

Osinbajo stressed that the goal should not be to prevent children from accessing technology, but to ensure digital platforms are designed with their safety, dignity and development in mind.

The discussions focused on issues including harmful content, online exploitation, excessive data collection, manipulative practices and the protection of children’s privacy.

Participants also considered measures such as safety-by-design requirements, algorithmic accountability, age-appropriate digital standards and stronger protection of children’s data.