Paris, 21 January 2026 — UNESCO, in partnership with UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), today launched the Charter for Public Digital Learning Platforms — a first-of-its-kind international framework establishing quality, inclusivity, data protection, and child-safety standards for government-operated educational technology platforms.

Scope and Context

Government-operated digital learning platforms now serve an estimated one billion learners globally. Their growth was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which compelled rapid deployment of remote learning solutions and exposed profound inequalities in digital infrastructure and pedagogical quality.

Despite their scale, public digital learning platforms have operated in the absence of internationally agreed standards. The new Charter addresses this regulatory vacuum, providing a common framework that governments, developers, educators, and civil society can use to evaluate and strengthen platform quality.

Core Standards

The Charter establishes five core standards:

1. Pedagogical Quality: Platforms must be grounded in evidence-based learning design, support personalised learning pathways, and align with national curriculum standards. 2. Inclusivity and Accessibility: Platforms must be accessible to learners with disabilities, available in local and minority languages, and functional on low-bandwidth and low-cost devices. 3. Data Protection and Privacy: All learner data must be governed by robust privacy frameworks, with explicit prohibition on commercial data monetisation. 4. Child Safety and Online Protection: Platforms must incorporate proactive content moderation, age-appropriate design principles, and robust reporting mechanisms. 5. Interoperability: Platforms should support open standards and avoid vendor lock-in, facilitating integration with other educational resources and national data systems.

Implementation Support

UNESCO will provide technical assistance to Member States in assessing their national platforms against the Charter standards through an online self-assessment tool, regional workshops, and peer learning exchanges.