Longitudinal support contract on specific risks and harms that minors face in the EU digital environment over time

Summary

Amidst the upcoming adoption of Commission’s Guidelines on article 28(1) of the DSA as well as other measures on the protection of minors in Q3 2025, there is a need to increase our understanding of how the risks, harms and benefits that children experience on online platforms evolve (also in light of a potential review of the Guidelines in 2027). In addition, it is important to supplement currently fragmented understanding about children’s perceptions of their online experiences, or knowledge about what children would want from tech companies to improve their safety, security and well-being online. Complementing the EU-wide inquiry into the impact of social media on well-being, this support contract would help monitoring children’s perspective on how EU rules are improving the digital environment over time. The support contract aims at providing comprehensive and representative data on children’s online experiences in the EU over time, which would be accompanied by a monitoring measurement framework. This primary research would allow to monitor trends with regards to the risks, harms and benefits that children face online across the EU, as well as their perception of different platforms and characteristics thereof, and how they navigate those risks and opportunities of their digital environment. In particular, the support contract should aim at linking specific risks, harms, benefits, perceptions and behaviors to specific platforms, features, and/or uses thereof, to assess the impact of EU action on platforms via the DSA.