A/HRC/31/34 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 28/19, in which the Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to prepare a report on the theme of information and communications technology and child sexual exploitation, in close collaboration with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children and the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as other stakeholders, including States, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), other relevant United Nations bodies and agencies, relevant special procedures mandate holders, regional organizations and human rights bodies, civil society, national human rights institutions and children themselves, and to present it to the Council at its thirty-first session. The report is also based on recent studies by the relevant mechanisms in this regard, and the need to ensure follow-up to the recommendations contained therein. II. Current context 2. Information and communications technology (ICT), which encompasses any communication device or application, including radio, television, cellular telephones, and computer and network hardware and software, is no longer an optional add-on to children’s lives, but an increasingly integral component of everyday life. It is as important to the educational and social development of children and young people as to the entire global economy. In a recent survey of adolescents in nine countries in Latin America, more than 80 per cent considered quality access to the Internet a fundamental human right (see A/69/264, para. 76). 3. Growing access to the Internet has brought about almost unlimited possibilities for children in their access to content and the exercise of their rights, including the right to receive and impart information and to express opinions. It provides new opportunities for informal and formal education, creativity, social interaction and civic participation. Such benefits nonetheless entail growing risks for children; in particular, the rapid expansion of the Internet globally, with its increasing and instant reach to individuals, has exposed more children and young people to the risk of sexual abuse and to new forms of sexual exploitation. These include the proliferation of child sexual abuse images and materials (child pornography); inappropriate contact with children and “grooming” by unknown adults; the distribution of self-generated content, including “sexting”; sexual coercion (“sextortion”) of children; and the broadcasting of videos of the sexual abuse of children, including by live streaming. 4. This rapidly evolving environment makes it difficult for legislators and policymakers to keep up with adequate protection for children. Given the transnational nature of the Internet and the challenges in detection, investigation, victim identification and enforcement that it poses, States, international organizations and the corporate sector need to work together to address them. 5. It is nonetheless important to recall that online risks do not necessarily translate into actual harm to children. When effective strategies are being developed, care should be taken to differentiate between online risks and harm resulting from online activities. It is important to go beyond simply attempts to avoid threats to developing children’s capacities as digital citizens and their ability to respond to such challenges. Rather than curtailing children’s natural curiosity and sense of innovation for fear of encountering risks online, 2