CARICOM Moves Toward Unified Legislation on Social Media to Protect Children in the Digital Age

Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

July 14, 2025 – With children and young people across the Caribbean spending unprecedented hours online, and increasingly exposed to harmful content, CARICOM Heads of Government have agreed to take collective action to protect the region’s most vulnerable. In their July 8 communique from the 49th Regular Meeting in Montego Bay, leaders committed to a regional framework for digital safety legislation — a move that signals a turning point in how Caribbean nations tackle the darker edges of the digital era.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The new initiative comes amid growing concern over the psychological and emotional impact of social media on youth, including rising rates of anxiety, depression, and body image issues linked to algorithm-driven content and AI-generated imagery. Global studies have shown that children aged 8 to 18 spend over seven hours daily on screens, and that excessive social media use can lead to decreased attention spans, poor sleep, and increased exposure to cyberbullying and harmful trends.

CARICOM leaders noted with alarm the reduced content moderation efforts by Big Tech companies, and stressed the need to “safeguard the mental health and wellbeing of Caribbean citizens.”

To that end, they agreed to establish a Regional Digital Safety Commission, tasked with crafting legislative proposals and guiding national efforts to enhance online safety. This body will also navigate the complex territory of freedom of expression versus content regulation, aiming to strike a delicate balance between embracing technological advancement and protecting human dignity.

The move reflects a growing consensus across the region that digital transformation must come with strong ethical guardrails — and that small states, united, can influence global norms while protecting the minds and futures of their youngest citizens.