KINGSTON, Jamaica — While welcoming recent comments by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton indicating that Jamaica is exploring restrictions on children’s access to social media, Fi We Children Foundation (FWCF) cautioned that limiting access alone will not be enough to protect children in the digital age.

In a statement issued on Monday, the advocacy group said that while efforts to shield children from online exploitation, harmful content and predatory behaviour are important, meaningful online protection requires a more comprehensive approach.

The organisation argued that safeguarding children online demands robust legislation, accountable technology companies and child-centred digital environments.

The group is now calling for urgent legislative reform, including amendments to the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA), to explicitly address online harms facing children, stressing that legal protections must evolve alongside technological developments to ensure children enjoy their rights both offline and online.

Among the key reforms proposed by FWCF are:

— Age-appropriate design: Digital platforms should be designed with children’s safety and well-being at their core rather than maximising engagement and addictive scrolling;

— Stronger default privacy settings: Child accounts should automatically operate with the highest levels of privacy, including disabled location sharing and restrictions on unsolicited contact;

— Ending harmful profiling: The collection and commercial use of children’s data for behavioural profiling should be restricted;

— Developmentally appropriate content: Algorithms should prioritise educational, creative and age-appropriate material while actively filtering harmful content, including self-harm, sexually explicit material and eating disorder content;

— A statutory duty of care: Technology companies should be legally required to identify, assess and mitigate risks to children; and

— Independent oversight: Regulators must have the authority to conduct audits, enforce compliance and ensure meaningful remedies where harm occurs.

The advocacy group also noted that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reaffirmed in 2026 that children’s rights apply fully within digital environments. Further, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Jamaica is a signatory, requires states to uphold the best interests of the child under Article 3 and respect children’s evolving capacities under Article 5.

“The digital world should be designed with children in mind. Children have the right not only to protection from harm but also to participation, information, privacy, and development in online spaces,” FWCF said.

The group urged the Government to pursue evidence-based policies that balance child protection with children’s rights, ensuring that any restrictions on social media are accompanied by comprehensive legal reforms and stronger obligations on technology companies.

“Every child deserves a safer internet — one built for children, not merely one that excludes them,” FWCF said.