Digital Futures for Children (DFC) is a joint research centre between LSE and 5Rights Foundation which advances understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies for children's rights and needs. Our goals are framed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General comment No. 25 on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment - the authoritative statement in international law of how the UNCRC should be implemented by states worldwide in relation to all things digital.

Our Aims

• Conduct critical and practical research: We conduct high-quality research on current and emerging areas relevant to children's rights in the digital environment. This includes research on topics such as online safety, digital literacy, and the impact of emerging technologies on children and young people.
• Provide an evidence base for advocacy: We produce research outputs that contribute to a robust evidence base for advocacy on children's rights in digital contexts. This will include longer-form research reviews, rapid response research briefs, and other materials that will provide key insights and recommendations to policymakers and other stakeholders.
• Facilitate dialogue between academics and policymakers: We facilitate a bridge between academic research and policymaking, facilitating dialogue and exchange of ideas between scholars and policymakers to ensure that children's rights are central in decision-making processes relating to digital provision and policy.
• Amplify children's voices: We ensure that children and young people have a meaningful voice in our research, and that their views and experiences are taken into account in the development of policy and practice. We will seek to capture the perspectives of diverse groups of children and young people, including those who are often marginalized or underrepresented.

Our Team

The work is led by

Professor Sonia Livingstone DPhil (Oxon), OBE, FBA, FBPS, FAcSS, FRSA, is a full professor in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. She has published 20 books and advised the UK government, European Commission, European Parliament, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Council of Europe, OECD, ITU and UNICEF on media audiences, children and young people’s risks and opportunities, media literacy and rights in the digital environment. She directs Digital Futures for Children.

Baroness Beeban Kidron OBE is a British filmmaker, Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords, and an advocate for children’s rights in the digital world. She is the Founder and Chair of 5Rights Foundation, a charity that works to create policy and practical solutions to build the digital world children and young people deserve, and a Visiting Professor in Practice at LSE. 5Rights funds Digital Futures for Children and Baroness Kidron chairs the Management Committee.