Focusing our Lens on Children as Data Subjects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66563/qfjft571Abstract
This paper examines the privacy of children on social media, specifically on the matter of consent and the factors that affect the establishment of consent by children. The paper argues that even though both international and national laws hold provisions for protecting this right, the practicality of these laws is affected by multiple factors that manifest either on social media or in the dynamics between children and their parents.
While the Data Protection Act seems to tackle the best interests of children on social media by bestowing parents with the decision to protect their interests, these interests can be tampered with through parents' ignorance of the ripple effect of having their child’s content on social media and the potential exploitation of children due to financial gain garnered from having their content on the internet.
Therefore, in the first section, the existing laws that protect children’s right to privacy will be expounded on. The second section will highlight the aspects that hamper the execution and protection of this right by drawing on existing publications and international cases. Finally, the third section will address potential approaches that can be used to protect this group of data subjects.
Consequently, this paper aims to add to the existing data protection landscape by interrogating how the privacy of children on social media is often interfered with despite existing data protection laws.
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