Protecting children in the age of AI

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OPINION

By Titus Tumusiime

Have you spent a few minutes on TikTok? Then you have likely encountered Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered videos where faces, voices and bodies are generated without the person ever being present. With a few clicks, anyone can create convincing content of someone saying or doing things they never did. Now imagine that person is a child.

In Uganda, police recently arrested a TikTok user who filmed himself sexually abusing a minor and posted the video on the platform, with authorities noting that predators sometimes use social media to contact, groom and exploit children. A report by the End Violence Partnership’s Safe Online Initiative in 2021 estimated that at least 215,000 children had experienced online child sexual exploitation and abuse in 2020. With the advancement of social media today, the numbers could be much higher.

Globally, investigations have found that social media platforms have been used to direct child accounts to sexually explicit content within a few clicks, raising concerns about how algorithmic recommendations can expose minors to harmful material that could be exploited by traffickers and abusers.

These cases underscore how powerful digital apps, especially those driven by AI recommendation systems, can be manipulated to target and endanger children when safety measures are weak or poorly enforced.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating the creation and spread of harmful online content, including manipulated images and videos that can be used to exploit, shame or groom children. In a country where internet access and smartphone use are expanding rapidly, often faster than digital literacy and safeguards, children are increasingly exposed to online spaces they are not equipped to navigate safely.

It is against this backdrop that Uganda joins the rest of the world in commemorating Safer Internet Day this Tuesday, 10 February 2026, under the theme “Smart tech, safe choices. Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI.” The theme resonates strongly at a time when online sexual exploitation and abuse of children (OCSEA) is emerging as a growing but under-reported child protection concern.

While Uganda has made progress in child protection policy and legislation, significant gaps remain in addressing online harms. Awareness of OCSEA among parents, teachers, law enforcement officers and even children themselves is still limited. Existing laws and enforcement mechanisms struggle to keep pace with rapidly evolving digital technologies, while coordination across sectors remains weak. Access to specialised services for victims and survivors is uneven and data on offender management and rehabilitation is limited.

The technology and telecommunications sector has a critical role to play. As gatekeepers of digital platforms and services, companies operating in Uganda carry a responsibility to integrate child safety by design approaches, support child-sensitive regulation and invest in awareness and reporting mechanisms. Yet child-centred safeguards and innovative protective technologies are still not widely adopted.

The media also plays a powerful role in shaping public understanding. Ethical, informed and victim-centred reporting on online child sexual exploitation and abuse is essential to raising awareness without causing further harm. Equally important is the meaningful participation of children. Supporting children with digital literacy, life skills and safe spaces to express their views is one of the most effective prevention strategies.

ChildFund is contributing to national efforts by strengthening child protection systems at community and district levels, supporting digital literacy and online safety education for children, caregivers and teachers and advocating for stronger coordination and policy responses. Through child-centred programming, partnerships with government and civil society and platforms that amplify children’s voices, we work to ensure technology enhances, rather than undermines, children’s wellbeing.

As Uganda embraces digital innovation and artificial intelligence, protecting children online must remain a shared national priority. In the age of AI, smart technology must be matched with smart choices that safeguard children’s safety, dignity and rights, both online and offline.

The writer is the Country Director, ChildFund Uganda.