Governing the digital determinants of health for children and young people: a global public health imperative.

Digital determinants of health significantly influence children and young people's health outcomes, requiring governance across four key domains to reduce inequities.

• Why it matters: Current public health policies overlook the structural digital factors shaping health, risking persistent disparities and unregulated digital environments that impact youth well-being.
• What they did: The authors identify four governance domains—access, platform design, data governance, and accountability—and advocate for intersectoral strategies to regulate these areas effectively.
• The result: Recognizing digital determinants as a core public health function enables targeted governance that prioritizes youth health, promotes equity, and addresses power imbalances in digital systems.