Parliamentarians from the IPU’s Twelve Plus Group met in Warsaw last week to examine the risks and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence (AI) and social media for young people and human rights.
The regional seminar Human Rights in the Digital Era. AI and Social Media: Opportunity or Threat for Youth? took place in Warsaw, Poland from 8 to 9 June 2026.
The seminar was co-organized by the IPU’s Twelve Plus geopolitical group, the Sejm and Senate of Poland, and the IPU. The Twelve Plus Group is one of the IPU’s six geopolitical groups and brings together mostly European parliaments, alongside parliaments from countries including Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand and Türkiye.
The seminar focused on two connected questions: how to protect children and young people online, and how parliaments can govern AI in defence of human rights.
Opening the seminar, the IPU Secretary General-elect, Anda Filip, said decisions on how AI is developed and regulated were political choices that should be made by institutions accountable to the public. With one in three internet users being children, she warned that platforms alone would not solve the harms created by algorithms designed to maximize commercial engagement, rather than protect users.
The first day focused on online safety for children and young people, including the constitutional and international foundations for protection. The lawmakers pointed to a growing number of parliamentary actions, including laws targetting AI-generated abuse imagery and stronger obligations on online platforms.
The second day turned to AI and human rights more broadly. Speakers framed AI governance as a question of power and accountability rather than technology, and pointed to the pressures it places on privacy, equality and personal autonomy, from the spread of surveillance tools to AI-generated disinformation. The parliamentarians said they had a key role to play in terms of scrutiny of government use of AI, transparency requirements, and the incorporation of emerging global standards into national law.
Participants agreed to continue the discussion, sharing experience on legislation and oversight, and exploring where the group might act together. The IPU is tracking parliamentary action on AI globally and is preparing an upcoming issue brief on AI and child rights, as it works to strengthen the parliamentary voice in international AI governance.
Find out more about the IPU’s work on AI
