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The private sector's role in education is expanding, whether through private schools or the procurement of AI-driven teaching and school management systems from private business enterprises for use in public schools. States should ensure that business enterprises and other key partners meet their human rights responsibilities and are held accountable in case of abuses. Business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights, including the rights of the child, as affirmed in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)3 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on human rights and business.[1] Under the ECHR, States cannot absolve themselves from responsibility by delegating their obligations to private bodies or individuals. This includes provision of education by private schools and their staff, whose acts may engage the responsibility of the State.[2]

Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)7 recommends that States should require business enterprises and other relevant stakeholders to meet their responsibility to respect the rights of the child in the digital environment and encourage them to support and promote these rights. States should promote and provide incentives to business enterprises to implement safety by design, privacy by design and privacy by default as guiding principles for products and services’ features and functionalities addressed to or used by children.

States should take appropriate steps to protect children against human rights abuses within the digital environment by business enterprises and to ensure that children have access to an effective remedy. This includes implementing policies and measures to encourage business enterprises to establish their own remedial and grievance mechanisms, in line with the effectiveness criteria set out in the UNGPs, while ensuring that these mechanisms do not impede the child’s access to the State-based judicial or non-judicial mechanisms. States should also encourage business enterprises to provide information that is accessible, age-appropriate, and available in the language of the child about how to introduce complaints and seek redress through remedial and grievance mechanisms. Additionally, business enterprises should be required to make available, on their platform or within their service, easily accessible ways for any person, and in particular children, to report any material or activity which causes them concern, ensuring that reports received are dealt with efficiently and within reasonable timescales.[3] There should be accessible and effective ways to report biases, errors, or concerns also about AI-driven educational systems that could impact rights holders.

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