Data Collection, Privacy, and Children in the Digital Economy

Abstract

AbstractTechnologies today facilitate widespread dissemination of information, including visual images, and rapid communication to billions of people across the globe. Digital economy firms increasingly shape how we create, disseminate, and access data and information. Data-driven business models increasingly influence companies’ aggregation and use of their customers’ personal information. The collection and use of data have a particular impact on children. Access to information about children may pose both short-term and long-term threats. Children potentially have different and perhaps even greater risks than adults because their relationships with digital spaces may be mediated by family relationships and the activities of other people who may have the authority to disclose their data. A significant percentage of children’s identity theft comes from persons known to them, such as family members. As a result, regulation of children’s data implicates family relationships in ways that are potentially difficult and complex. Existing legal and regulatory approaches may focus on data privacy after it has been collected, with insufficient attention to the effectiveness of consent in light of widespread data technology business models, as well as to extensive data collection and aggregation. While this may harm both adults and children, it places a particular burden on children.