First Ladies Urge Global Standards for Children's Digital Safety At a UN meeting, first ladies from 13 countries, led by Türkiye's Emine Erdogan, called for a common international framework to protect children online. They highlighted the risks posed by global technology companies and artificial intelligence, arguing that national regulations alone are insufficient for ensuring child safety in a borderless digital world. With minors increasingly exposed to online exploitation, harmful content and AI-driven risks, First Lady Emine Erdogan calls for global standards for child safety, as world leaders' spouses urge stronger protections in the digital world. Global Standards for Child SafetyTurkish First Lady Emine Erdogan said national regulations alone could not adequately address the challenges posed by global technology companies. As technology companies expand their influence over children's lives, first ladies and spouses of world leaders have called for a common international framework to protect young users, with Türkiye's Emine ErdoganSpeaking at a high-level meeting at UN headquarters in New York on September 21, Erdogan said national regulations alone could not adequately address the challenges posed by global technology companies and called instead for coordinated international action.The event, titled "The Invisible Architecture: Building Safe Digital Systems for Children", was held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly high-level week under Erdogan's auspices, in cooperation with UNICEF and the Office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children. The discussion brought together first ladies and spouses of heads of state and government from 13 countries, who highlighted the growing risks children face online and the need to make their safety a shared international responsibility.Erdogan cautioned against treating technology as an outright threat, but argued that digital platforms had evolved far beyond communication tools into systems that can direct societies and reshape everyday life."We cannot be a mere onlooker to technology, which we have invented ourselves, inventing a new human type that will serve its purposes in front of our own eyes," she said. She criticised business models that prioritise profit and engagement over children's well-being, arguing that the pressure exerted by such systems on young users must be addressed.Building a Healthy Digital Ecosystem"Ensuring children's safety is not solely the responsibility of parents; it is the responsibility of all of us. We must build a healthy digital ecosystem and ensure that safety is not an additional feature added to digital systems later, but the starting point of their design," she said. Türkiye, she noted, introduced legal and technical measures on children's social media use early on.However, individual national regulations can make standardisation difficult when companies operate globally."Therefore, we should unite our common efforts," Erdogan said, calling for common global standards under the UN, supported by regular monitoring and reporting mechanisms. Her proposal found support among other speakers, who similarly argued that the cross-border nature of digital platforms requires a response beyond national legislation. Lebanese Prime Minister's spouse Sahar Salam backed a common international framework to establish minimum standards for child safety, clear responsibilities for technology companies, and effective cross-border cooperation.Cross-Border Cooperation for Protection"No country can protect its children in the digital world alone. Technology crosses borders instantly. Our protection systems do not," she said. Romanian First Lady Mirabela Gradinaru also compared it to road safety, noting that countries have their own rules and enforcement mechanisms, while the internet has no equivalent boundaries.Beyond regulation, the speeches highlighted how digital environments expose children to exploitation, manipulation, cyberbullying, harmful content and violations of privacy. Queen Mathilde of Belgium centred her remarks on children's rights, arguing that children cannot be treated as a variable in technology companies' business models.UN Yemen envoy concludes Cairo talks on Yemen escalation, regional falloutBurundian First Lady Angeline Ndayishimiye acknowledged the opportunities digital technologies offer young people, particularly across Africa, while warning that these benefits come with growing risks to children's safety and dignity. Kenyan First Lady Rachel Ruto described the internet as a shared digital space in which threats do not respect national borders.AI Risks and Children's Rights"A child's data, image, location, and online behaviour are not commodities to be harvested; they are part of that child's dignity, rights, and future," she said. The discussion also extended beyond social media to artificial intelligence, with Canadian Prime Minister's spouse Diana Fox Carney warning that AI represents the next frontier in child protection."Our children should not have to surrender their childhood to the technologies that we create," she said. Serbian First Lady Tamara Vucic called for children to be equipped with the knowledge to understand AI, alongside safe standards for its use in education and stronger international cooperation.