Children’s Privacy in the Networked Environment
By Professor Jane Bailey and Dr Valerie Steeves
(with research assistance from Vanessa Ford)
Almost every aspect of a child’s life – school, communications, entertainment, etc. – is now in some way connected to or affected by our digitally networked environment. Given this, it is not surprising that children and young people repeatedly report living an almost seamlessly integrated online/offline existence (see e.g. Steeves, 2012). This seamless integration presents a significant threat to children’s privacy as technology companies structure online interactions to encourage children to share as much data as possible in order to profile them for profit-making purposes.
Check out our fact sheet on privacy.
Fact Sheet_eQuality ProjectAlso, see the General Comment on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment.
Children’s rights apply in digital space. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted a new General Comment 25 to provide guidance to states and other actors. It provides a comprehensive analysis of all the rights of children in relation to the digital world. It also outlines the duties of various stakeholders to ensure that children can realize their rights in the digital world.