, Feb. 5 -- A UN expert on Monday warned of the urgent need to put children's rights at the heart of the development and regulation of the internet and new digital products.

Ahead of Safer Internet Day, the UN Special Rapporteur on sale and sexual exploitation of children, Mama Fatima Singhateh, issued the following statement:

"The internet and digital platforms can be a double-edged sword for children and young people. It can allow them to positively interact and further develop as autonomous human beings, claiming their own space. While also facilitate age-inappropriate content and online sexual harms of children by adults and peers.

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