Srishti Virat, University School of Law & Legal Studies, GGSIPU
ABSTRACT
One of the major development in recent decades is technology. Technology is the vital source for the growth and development of the Digital Environment. The term digital environment cannot be constrained to one meaning or idea. Perhaps it has a very wide area of scope and innovation. Since a long period of time the society has been dependent on the digital environment for various personal, social and professional purposes. Everyone has access to the digital environment this includes children as well. The internet is the need of time and is being growingly crucial during most aspects of children's lives, during times of crisis (for e.g., Covid-19), as societal functions including education, government services and commerce progressively come to rely upon digital technologies. The digital environment is constantly evolving and expanding, it provides new opportunities for the realisation of children's rights. At the same time it creates risk of violation or abuse of these rights. Children need special protection online and they need to be educated about how to extract maximum benefit from the use of the Internet and to steer clear of danger. The children are exposed to risks like cyberbullying, online grooming, cyber- crime, data protection issues and child sexual abuse material. Every child must be protected of these risks and their rights must be respected and fulfilled in the digital environment. This research paper will look into the various children’s rights in the virtual world and study about the need to strike balance between the right to protection and participation, privacy and data protection, right to information and education etc. Further the paper will also explore the opportunities to promote children’s rights with the right guidance and tools. It will also examine various laws & case laws, policies made by governments and world-wide agencies like UNICEF & UNCRC for the better protection and upliftment of children’s right in the digital universe.
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