Telecom
GSMA, Mobile Industry Call for Strengthened Action to Advance Child Online Protection in Africa
The GSMA, in partnership with the mobile industry, is calling for strengthened collective action to protect children online across Africa. Building on insights from a high-level roundtable convened at the Ministerial Programme during MWC25 Barcelona, the GSMA yesterday released a new whitepaper, Enhancing Child Online Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa outlining key recommendations to guide governments, regulators, industry, civil society, and youth stakeholders as they work together to create a safer digital environment for children.
With Africa’s digital transformation accelerating, the number of children accessing the internet is rising rapidly – often through mobile devices, as the region remains mobile-first.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) set out the fundamental rights of all children, both of which provide a critical foundation for ensuring that children’s rights are fully respected, protected, and fulfilled in the digital age. Mobile technology holds enormous potential to help advance these rights, as explored in the GSMA-UNICEF report Enhancing Children’s Lives through Mobile.
While published in 2019, the report’s principles and mapping remain highly relevant today, reflecting the GSMA’s longstanding commitment to this area. We continue to work closely with UNICEF, and as a next step, GSMA and UNICEF will co-lead a new regional taskforce to help drive forward the recommendations from this whitepaper and strengthen cooperation across governments, industry, and civil society.
Mobile can open doors to education, social connection, and development. But as connectivity expands, so too do the risks: children are increasingly exposed to cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation. Recognising both the opportunities and challenges of the digital environment, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child dedicated the 2023 Day of the African Child (DAC) to this important theme – reinforcing the urgent need for cross-sector cooperation.
The GSMA and its members in Africa have worked together to highlight shared challenges, amplify the voices of young people, and identify areas where governments, industry, and civil society can strengthen coordinated efforts.
Key recommendations from the whitepaper include:
- Ensuring child- and youth-centred approaches in policy and programme development
- Strengthening national frameworks in line with the African Union Child Online Safety and Empowerment Strategy
- Expanding digital literacy and awareness initiatives for children, parents, and educators
- Building stronger public-private partnerships to scale resources, tools, and services across the region
Angela Wamola, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at the GSMA, said: “Protecting children online is a responsibility shared across governments, industry, civil society, and families. By working together, we can ensure the digital environment becomes a place of opportunity – not risk – for Africa’s children. This whitepaper is an important step in supporting stakeholders across the region as they advance this urgent agenda.”
Nankali Maksud, Regional Advisor for Child Protection at UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa, added: “Children and young people under 18 make up half of Africa’s population. Protecting their safety online is not only about safeguarding rights, but about investing in Africa’s human capital and future leadership.
This whitepaper helps elevate African voices, African leadership, and African solutions for protecting children in the digital space. We at UNICEF look forward to co-hosting a taskforce for GSMA to take forward the recommendations emerging from this whitepaper”.
The whitepaper integrates regional data, including findings from IPSOS research commissioned by MTN Group, as well as insights from youth advocate Jemima Kasongo, 19, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who opened the roundtable during MWC25 with a powerful call to action on behalf of young people across the continent.
The GSMA reaffirms that child online protection is a global priority, with efforts underway worldwide to strengthen safer digital environments. Initiatives such as the GSMA Mobile Alliance to Combat Digital Child Sexual Exploitation bring together international mobile operators to drive good practice and coordinate global responses.
While this new whitepaper focuses on Africa, it builds on the GSMA’s broader global commitment, including newly published guidance on incorporating young voices into digital policy and solution design. The GSMA encourages all stakeholders to engage with the recommendations and join the ongoing dialogue to help ensure a safer digital future for Africa’s children.
Sophos, a leading provider of innovative cybersecurity solutions, shared practical advice to help internet users safeguard their credentials and maintain continuous protection online.
Sophos
According to the upcoming Sophos Active Adversary Report, compromised credentials were the leading cause of attacks (42.06%) in 2025.
This is a strong trend that continues to dominate the scene, with cyber attackers demonstrating ever-increasing ingenuity and relying on new tools to compromise the security and privacy of internet users.
John Shier, Field CISO Threat Intelligence at Sophos, said: “The way attackers are using automation and generative AI to massively increase the speed and volume of their attacks suggests that attacks will become faster and more sophisticated. The best approach to protecting our identities and digital data is to take a proactive stance on defense.”
“Criminals are increasingly targeting people rather than devices, and this trend is expected to continue and even accelerate. Once again, AI is being used as a weapon to create highly detailed phishing lures to entice people to disclose passwords or financial information through well-designed emails, text messages, and WhatsApp messages.”
1. Keep your devices up to date: the most important and simplest measure you can take to protect yourself in the long term.
Cybercriminals are constantly on the lookout for computers that don’t have all the latest security patches, making them easy targets for compromise. This includes computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and home Internet/Wi-Fi routers. In most cases, you just need to click “Check for Updates” or “Update Now” and allow the device to restart.
2. Use a password management tool, whether it is built into an operating system or a third-party tool.
Password uniqueness and complexity are then managed automatically, greatly facilitating account isolation and protection.
3. Enhance protection with phishing resistant (MFA).
Many websites offer the option of using an “authentication app,” a smartphone app that displays a unique code for a short period of time, which must be entered after the password, making it much more secure than simply using a password.
Better still, there is a new solution called “passkeys,” which generally uses biometric authentication on your smartphone (face scan, fingerprint) to log in without any password. This is the best choice when available.
John Shier concludes: “Criminals will never stop trying to steal from us, so we must remain vigilant. We know that they are constantly improving and becoming more skilled at deceiving us, so it’s up to us to move forward and improve our protections to stay safe.”
For more information, please visit: https://www.sophos.com
European Union has launched a formal challenge against Meta Platforms over a new policy restricting third-party artificial intelligence tools on WhatsApp.
Meta
Regulators accuse the U.S. tech giant of abusing its dominant position in the messaging market to favor its own AI assistant.
On January 15, Meta implemented changes to the WhatsApp Business API, allowing only its proprietary Meta AI to operate while blocking rival chatbots.
The European Commission quickly responded with a statement of objections and announced plans for interim measures to prevent “serious and irreparable harm” to competitors during the ongoing investigation.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera stressed the need to safeguard competition in the booming AI sector. “We cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance for an unfair advantage,” she said.
Interim steps could force Meta to restore access for third-party AI tools on WhatsApp pending the probe’s outcome.
Meta defended the policy, insisting the WhatsApp Business API serves business-to-customer needs, not general AI distribution.
A spokesperson highlighted alternatives like app stores, devices, and websites for other AI options, rejecting claims that the API is essential for chatbots.
This dispute echoes actions elsewhere: Italy restricted Meta similarly last December, while Brazil recently lifted a comparable court order.
As AI integrates deeper into daily apps, the EU’s moves signal heightened scrutiny on tech gatekeepers.
Webb Fontaine has launched Webb Fontaine Zerø, a groundbreaking AI-powered Customs platform, at the 2026 WCO Technology Conference in Abu Dhabi, drawing over 1,500 delegates from 100+ countries.
Webb Fontaine
CEO Alioune Ciss unveiled the LLM-based concept during the keynote, calling it a “complete reset” from legacy systems – embedding AI across operations for real-time regulatory adaptation, risk management, and trade facilitation under the theme “Customs Agility in a Complex World.”
CTO Ara Shamirzayan led panels on AI risk analytics, while GM Anicet Houngbo moderated border digitalization talks showcasing emerging market successes.
The firm’s stand hosted Zerø demos, interactive sessions, and a sponsored gala dinner, reinforcing WCO ties via SAFE Framework and PSCG contributions.
Webb Fontaine eyes global partnerships to deploy agile, future-proof Customs tech amid rising trade demands.
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