EU AI Law: Lessons and Challenges for Argentina from a Children's Rights Perspective

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Digital Protection Argentina – Observatory of Legislation and Public Policies

Date: October 2025

Author: Digital Protection Argentina

Sources: Analysis based on the European Union'sArtificial Intelligence Act (2024) and documents from UNICEF, 5Rights Foundation, DataCamp and Termly.

Abstract

The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) establishes the world's first comprehensive legal framework for regulating the use, development, and application of artificial intelligence. Based on a risk management approach and the protection of fundamental rights , it marks a turning point in global technological governance.

This article examines its main provisions, the challenges of its implementation, and the opportunities for Argentina to incorporate similar standards with a focus on the protection of children and adolescents .

Based on a critical reading, it is suggested that the strength of the AI Act will depend on its implementation capacity and that, in Argentina, the priority should be the creation of technical tools, clear regulatory frameworks, and effective child participation in digital risk assessment.

Europe sets the course

The European Union's approval of the AI Act represents a turning point in the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI). It is the first law to transform ethical and human rights principles into concrete legal obligations , with a risk-based approach and the protection of the most vulnerable.

For Argentina and Latin America, European law serves as a normative compass . It's not about copying its content, but rather understanding its foundations and translating them into a national context, especially with regard to children's rights in digital environments .

The region needs to advance in building an AI governance framework that combines innovation, protection, and social justice.

Technical structure of the AI Act

The law is organized according to a risk-based approach :

• Prohibited systems: Those that manipulate or exploit human vulnerabilities (including those derived from age), that perform social scoring, or that employ real-time biometric recognition in public spaces.

• High-risk systems: Used in sensitive areas such as education, healthcare, employment, or access to public services. These must meet strict requirements:

  • Risk assessments

  • Human supervision

  • Algorithmic transparency

  • Data quality

  • Audited technical documentation

• Limited or minimal risk systems: Subject to minor transparency requirements (e.g., chatbots or recommendation systems).

In addition, the regulation creates a European Artificial Intelligence Office (AI Office) , responsible for coordinating national authorities, issuing technical guidelines, and overseeing the cross-cutting application of the regulation.

In terms of children's rights, Article 5 explicitly prohibits systems that exploit the vulnerabilities of specific groups, including children, strengthening the link between technological governance and child protection.

The global pattern is the European pattern

The AI Act confirms Europe's leadership in building a regulatory model where technology and human rights converge. For Argentina, it represents a benchmark for harmonizing disparate public policies (personal data, digital education, algorithmic accountability). However, copying without adaptation can generate ineffective bureaucracy: local technical translation is required with institutions equipped to enforce the regulation.

Age and vulnerability: critical definitions

One of the pillars of the AI Act is the recognition that children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to algorithmic manipulation. However, its implementation will depend on how "age-based vulnerability" is defined. For Argentina, it is key to ensure that every person under 18 is recognized as a protected subject and to define specific criteria to identify systems that exploit this vulnerability:

• Advertising aimed at minors

• Persuasive or addictive design

• Games or platforms with reward mechanisms

• Inappropriate or risky content

Need for technical and governance tools

Europe is moving forward with the creation of an AI Office staffed with specialists in ethics, auditing, and algorithmic security. Argentina needs to build or strengthen a national technical unit —within the AAIP or ENACOM —that can audit AI systems, coordinate regulations, and issue algorithmic transparency guidelines.

The AI Act is directly linked to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) . In contrast, Argentina's Personal Data Protection Law 25.326 (from 2000) lacks a child-focused perspective and fails to address the contemporary digital environment. A comprehensive reform is urgently needed to ensure compatibility with international standards and to include specific provisions for the protection of children's data.

From Law to Practice: Guidelines, Standards, and Child Participation

The impact of the AI Act will depend on its secondary instruments : technical guides, codes of conduct, and impact assessment templates. These should include child participation mechanisms , in line with General Comment No. 25 (2021) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes that children's voices are essential to understanding how technologies affect their rights.

Challenges for Argentina

1. Private Sector Resistance: Part of the tech industry perceives regulation as a threat to innovation. It's necessary to demonstrate that compliance increases trust and long-term sustainability.

2. Regulatory fragmentation. The lack of coordination between agencies (AAIP, ENACOM, Ministry of Education, Justice, etc.) limits effectiveness. A comprehensive digital policy with a cross-cutting human rights approach is needed.

3. Limited technical capacity. The Argentine government lacks specialized technical skills to audit algorithms or analyze large volumes of data. Training, international cooperation, and partnerships with universities and multilateral organizations are required .

The law will be as strong as its implementation

5Rights argues that the law will be only as strong as its implementation. Now, what will be the standard for enforcing the Article 5 prohibition? How will the risks to children be assessed and managed?

The true effectiveness of the AI Act will depend on how risk is interpreted and operationalized . If the assessment is purely formal, the protection will be symbolic. But if mechanisms for traceability, independent auditing, and early correction are established , the impact can be transformative. In Argentina, this implies that institutional design must precede legal text : capacity first, then norm.

A regional cooperation strategy—between Argentina, Mercosur, and the OAS—would help avoid regulatory asymmetries and build common standards for digital child protection. This would allow for greater negotiating power with global platforms and promote a Latin American model of artificial intelligence centered on human rights.

Digital Protection Recommendations Argentina

1. Immediate technical monitoring and translation

Create a permanent observatory that follows the guidelines of the European AI Office , publishing quarterly briefings in Spanish on its implications for children and the region.

2. Clarity on “age vulnerability”

Promote regulations that explicitly recognize all persons under 18 as a vulnerable group. Define criteria for detecting algorithmic exploitation: profiling, persuasive design, attention monetization, and child advertising.

3. Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) for AI

Adapt UNICEF's D-CRIA model to create an Argentine child impact assessment tool that incorporates:

• Training data audits

• Bias Detection

• Minimum explainability requirements

• Limits to child profiling

• Digital watermarking of synthetic content

4. Strengthen regulatory capacities

Establish a national technical unit for AI and digital rights to coordinate policies between AAIP, ENACOM, and relevant ministries.

5. Training and support for the private sector

Develop a training kit :“AI Act: What it means for those designing technology for children” , with workshops aimed at SMEs, edtech companies, and universities.

Some conclusions

The AI Act represents the most ambitious attempt to date to balance technological innovation and human rights. Its value lies not only in the text of the law, but in the ability to implement it with rigor, consistency, and a child-centered approach .

For Argentina, it offers three key lessons:

1. Child protection must be the regulatory axis and not an annex .

2. Effective regulation requires technical competence and political will .

3. Digital transformation will only be sustainable if it is guided by the best interests of children and adolescents .

Ultimately, the AI Act is not a model to copy, but a mirror to gauge our priorities. Argentina's challenge will be to translate its spirit into robust local practice , where every digital system incorporates, by design, the guarantee of the right to a protected, free, and autonomous childhood.

References

• European Union.Artificial Intelligence Act (2024).

• UNICEF.Developing Global Guidance for Child Rights Impact Assessments in Relation to the Digital Environment (2023).

• 5Rights Foundation.AI Act Has Potential to Transform Children's Online Experience (2024).

• DataCamp.What Is the EU AI Act: Summary Guide for Leaders (2024).

Termly.EU Artificial Intelligence Act Overview (2024).