Global Child Forum
PRESS RELEASE
Stockholm, April 28
Global Child Forum today announced that TikTok has joined ListenUp! – Advancing Digital Wellbeing for Children and Youth, a multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together companies, experts, and children’s rights organisations to help ensure that young people’s experiences and perspectives inform the design of safer, more inclusive digital environments.
Led by Global Child Forum, ListenUp! aims to strengthen how companies engage with children and youth as stakeholders in matters affecting their digital wellbeing. Through youth consultation, shared learning, and cross-sector dialogue, the initiative seeks to support practical improvements across the digital ecosystem.
TikTok joins a growing group of companies participating in the initiative, which reflects the importance of engaging actors that shape children’s everyday digital experiences at scale.
“Children and teenagers are deeply affected by the digital environments created by major technology companies,” said Ekin Björstedt, Global Child Forum’s Secretary General. “Our role is to ensure that children’s voices inform decisions that shape their digital lives. Through ListenUp!, we work constructively with companies to take responsibility and advance children’s digital wellbeing. This requires engaging a broad range of actors—from telecom companies to global digital platforms—to drive real and lasting impact.”
As digital platforms continue to play a central role in young people’s lives, Global Child Forum believes it is essential that companies whose products and services affect children are part of serious, child-rights-based conversations about how online spaces can better support young people’s safety, wellbeing, and development.
“We’re pleased to join ListenUp!, which gives TikTok another opportunity to hear directly from young people about their digital experiences, and to contribute alongside experts and civil society,” said Fredrik Timell, Public Policy Manager – Sweden, at TikTok. “We design our app with a safety by design approach to support teens and their parents, and see this as ongoing work we continue to develop over time, informed by the belief that young people should help shape how digital platforms evolve. Engaging with their perspectives is an important part of this.”
About ListenUp!
ListenUp! is part of Global Child Forum’s broader work to advance children’s rights in relation to business impact.
By bringing together children’s voices, research, and corporate engagement, the initiative aims to generate insights and momentum for a more responsible digital ecosystem—one that better reflects the needs, rights, and lived realities of children and youth—helping shape the digital products, services, and policies that affect their lives.
Participation in ListenUp! reflects a commitment to engage in dialogue, learning, and improvement on children’s digital wellbeing. It does not constitute an endorsement by Global Child Forum of any participating company’s overall policies or practices. Participation in the initiative also does not influence Global Child Forum’s Benchmark scoring.
Media enquiries
Linda Ravin Lodding
Head of Communications, Global Child Forum
Email: linda.lodding@globalchildforum.org
We’re pleased to join ListenUp!, which gives TikTok another opportunity to hear directly from young people about their digital experiences, and to contribute alongside experts and civil society.
Fredrik Timell
Public Policy Manager - Sweden, at TikTok
Global Child Forum is a Swedish non-profit foundation working to advance children’s rights in relation to business. Initiated in 2009 by Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Global Child Forum equips companies and decision-makers with research, knowledge, and platforms for dialogue to help drive progress for children’s rights. For more information, please visit: www.globalchildforum.org.