Every year on 10 February, Safer Internet Day invites us to pause. To look at how digital spaces shape our lives. In 2026, that pause needs more attention than ever.
The internet is no longer just a place children visit.
It is an environment that actively shapes how they learn, communicate, and understand the world.
Artificial intelligence is part of this environment.
Quietly present. Constantly active.
From recommendation systems and voice assistants to personalised learning tools, AI influences what children see, how they interact, and which ideas reach them first. Often without explanation. Often without choice.
This changes what safety means.
Online safety for children can no longer rely only on parental controls or basic rules. Those tools matter, but they are not enough. Real safety begins with understanding how digital systems make decisions - and who is responsible for those decisions.
We need to ask better questions:
Without transparency, safety becomes procedural. A checklist. Not protection.
AI has clear benefits. It can support creativity. It can personalise learning. It can help children explore ideas in new ways. But without careful design, it can also reinforce stereotypes, amplify harmful content, or treat children as sources of data rather than individuals with rights.
True safety is built into the design.
It respects dignity.
It limits data by default.
It explains itself clearly.
And it keeps humans involved where decisions truly matter.
Children do not need fewer tools.
They need better ones.
We must equip young people with understanding, not just restrictions. When children learn how technology shapes their digital world, they gain the confidence to question it, use it responsibly, and make informed choices.
This responsibility is shared.
Parents. Educators. Designers. Platform owners. Policymakers.
Open conversations matter. Clarity matters. Children deserve to know how the tools around them work - and why.
This Safer Internet Day, safety should mean more than protection from harm.
It should mean care, responsibility, and long-term thinking.
Because in the age of AI, the digital environments we build today will shape the people children become tomorrow.