Digital safety for children with disabilities – selected aspects
(Bezpieczeństwo cyfrowe dzieci z niepełnosprawnościami – wybrane aspekty)
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Katedra Nauk Prawnych, Akademia Łomżyńska (Łomża University), Poland
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2025-12-01
Acceptance date: 2025-12-14
Publication date: 2025-12-23
Corresponding author
Paweł Zając
Katedra Nauk Prawnych, Akademia Łomżyńska (Łomża University), Akademicka 14, 18-400, Łomża, Poland
Cybersecurity and Law 2025;14(2):158-172
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ABSTRACT
Objectives:
The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing legal regulations concerning the digital safety of children with disabilities, and to evaluate their adequacy in the context of contemporary threats characteristic of the digital environment.
Methods:
The article is based on a doctrinal legal method, which includes an analysis of national provisions governing issues such as cyberbullying, hate speech, and the protection of the rights of children and persons with disabilities. A comparative legal method was also employed.
Results:
The analysis indicates that the current system for the legal protection of children with disabilities in the digital environment is fragmented and not fully commensurate with the scale of the risks involved. Key gaps include: the absence of a statutory definition of cyberbullying, which hinders a consistent legal classification of the phenomenon; the failure to include disability as a protected characteristic in offenses related to hate speech (Articles 256-257 of the Penal Code); and the reliance on private prosecutions for offenses such as defamation and insult, which significantly complicates the protection of children -particularly in cases where their guardians lack specialized legal knowledge.
Conclusions:
The article concludes that the digital safety of children with disabilities requires both legislative intervention and the expansion of preventive systems. It is necessary to include disability among the protected characteristics in hate speech legislation, which would provide this group with genuine protection against verbal aggression in the digital environment.