Today, February 10th, marks the 23rd anniversary of Safer Internet Day, a landmark global event in the online safety calendar and marked in over 180 countries.
At today’s event, which is taking place in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and hosted by the Irish Safer Internet Centre, young people and adults will come together to discuss how they can be supported to develop the skills and confidence to engage with AI critically and responsibly.
The Irish Safer Internet Centre knows through engagement with children and young people that they are concerned about how to safely and responsibly navigate the growing influence of generative AI in their lives.
The theme for Safer Internet Day 2026 is “AI Aware: Safe, Smart and in Control”. This encourages parents, schools, educators, young people and all stakeholders to consider how AI shapes young people’s lives.
New research from UCD shows that young people accept the privacy trade-offs inherent in modern digital life, even as they acknowledge generative Gen AI’s capacity for malicious use, notably dangerous or emotionally harmful content and the generation of damaging, non-consensual images (“AI nudes”) of peers. One respondent referred to an incident in school: “They made AI nudes. With people… I only found out about it after the guard came in. I don’t know what happened to him, but he hasn’t been back since then.”
The key issues that will be discussed during Safer Internet Day 2026 include the risks and harms emerging today, as well as the practical steps, policy pathways and innovative solutions needed to ensure generative AI technologies are safe and age-appropriate for children. It will also explore potential opportunities of AI technologies to benefit children and young people.
The discussions will highlight the voices and lived experiences of young people, to ensure that their insights inform the proposed solutions.
Safer Internet Day 2026 will feature a keynote address from Dr. Mhairi Aitken of the Alan Turing Institute whose research examines AI and children’s rights,. In addition, the event will include contributions from the Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett; the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel; Professor of Social Psychology Sonia Livingstone at the London School of
Economics and Political Science and Dr. Claudette Pretorius, Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science at University College Dublin.
Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton said: “With rapidly-evolving AI bringing opportunities and challenges to our world and our daily lives, it is an honour for me as Minister to join with members of the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel and international experts today in celebrating Safer Internet Day 2026. It is now more important than ever that we can empower our children and young people to develop the critical thinking and digital literacy skills needed to evaluate AI generated content, protect their privacy and make responsible decisions.
“Online safety and the safe and ethical use of digital technologies is a key component of my department’s Digital Strategy for Schools. Webwise, the department’s online safety initiative, is doing significant work to raise awareness in this area and I would encourage all teachers and parents to explore their wide array of resources and training programmes available at webwise.ie promoting digital citizenship, online wellbeing and more.”
The Irish Safer Internet Centre said:
“This Safer Internet Day will explore ways to help children and young people be safe and responsible in a complex world increasingly shaped by AI tools and digital technology. Our aim is to provide children and young people and parents with resources and advice on using Gen AI Tools. Explore ways to safeguard children online and reflect on the current state of play of GenAI, and finally to empower children and young people to thrive in the digital world through active participation and education.”
Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett said:
“I am delighted to continue our support of Safer Internet Day this year by sharing with schools across Ireland a set of educational resources designed to support teaching and learning about children’s rights online, and to encourage a critical-thinking approach to online information. Safer Internet Day is an important event in our calendar and its focus this year on AI is both welcome and timely.”
Safer Internet Day in Ireland is coordinated by the Irish Safer Internet Centre, a partnership between Hotline, ISPCC, National Parents Council and Webwise, providing a range of complementary online safety services, including an education and awareness centre, child and parent helplines and a hotline. The Centre is coordinated by the Department of Justice and co-funded by the European Union.
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