No age check for your child's SIM or apps. What SAHRC wants changed

No South African law requires anyone to check a child's age when they register a SIM card or download an app, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says. It wants that changed, along with four other laws, in a report its Child Rights Unit launched on 22 October 2026 (SAHRC).

The report, Children's Rights to Privacy and Safety on Online Platforms: Legislative Gaps and the Case for Reform, grew out of a stakeholder conference in Johannesburg on 28 March 2026. Children from the SAHRC's Child Rights Ambassadors programme took part alongside government departments, regulators and tech companies (SAHRC).

These are recommendations only. Nothing in them is law yet.

What did the SAHRC find?

The commission says children are using online spaces that were not designed with their interests in mind (SAHRC). Its main findings:

• Children's personal data is routinely collected without meaningful, informed consent, despite the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
• Tools for reporting online harm are largely inaccessible or inadequate for children.
• Many parents and caregivers lack the digital skills to guide children safely.
• POPIA and the Cybercrimes Act do not deal with platform design, such as addictive algorithmic feeds, data sharing switched on by default, or age checks at sign-up.
• Tech companies profit from children's use of their platforms but carry too little accountability for the harm.

Without an age check at the SIM or app stage, the commission argues, every later protection that depends on a platform knowing it is dealing with a minor is weakened.

Commissioner Nomahlubi Khwinana told the conference that platforms can collect and keep children's information before they are old enough to understand what that means. "The digital environment does not create a rights-free zone," she said (IOL).

At the same conference, Tumelo Hlaka of Moxii Africa cited research suggesting social media companies may have collected about 82 million data points on a child by age 13 (IOL).

Which laws does it want changed?

The SAHRC is asking Parliament and government departments to amend five laws (SAHRC):

• POPIA: change sections 34 and 35 so children's data is processed only with plain-language, properly informed consent, and widen the act to cover passive data collection, harmful design and cross-border enforcement.
• Children's Act: deal with parents and caregivers who post children's images and information abusively.
• Films and Publications Amendment Act: cover content served by algorithms, livestreams and AI-generated child sexual abuse material, with mandatory age verification and child-friendly reporting tools.
• Cybercrimes Act: address addictive design and the use of children's data for targeted advertising.
• Electronic Communications and Transactions Act: require age verification for SIM registration, with a parent involved for minors.

It also wants the Information Regulator and the Film and Publication Board (FPB) to be able to check platforms for safety before harm happens, instead of waiting for complaints, and to investigate companies based outside South Africa (SAHRC).

Does this affect parents who post photos of their children?

Not yet. The report flags parents and caregivers sharing children's photos and personal details online without the child's knowledge or consent as a privacy and safety risk (IOL). The proposed Children's Act change targets abusive posting, but it would first have to be drafted and passed by Parliament.

What happens next?

The SAHRC says it will take the recommendations to the relevant parliamentary portfolio committees and government departments (IOL). It also wants a national child online safety strategy, better digital literacy teaching in schools and more support for parents.

Where can you report harmful content involving a child now?

The FPB runs a hotline for child sexual abuse material and other harmful or violent content online. Report it through the online form, on 0800 148 148, or on WhatsApp at 083 428 4767 (FPB). The FPB says it issues takedown notices to platforms and works with law enforcement (FPB).