Without a doubt, kids spend almost as much time online as offline, with around 96 percent going online every day. Doing so potentially exposes their data (including their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, biometrics, photos, videos, and IP addresses) to third parties, posing several threats to their physical and mental health. The misuse of children’s personal data in digital platforms and services, search engines, social media, chats, livestreaming technologies, and interactive games can have lifelong impacts that also involve their families and society at large. It is therefore vital for parents to understand the various forms of harmful use of children’s personal data by companies in the online sphere, and to advocate for safer digital spaces for their children.
Types of Harm Caused by Lack of Data Privacy
UNICEF notes that there are numerous harmful uses of children’s data, including privacy violations that allow third parties to collect information about children’s communications, activities, and online behavior. Another category involves safety violations, in which personal information can be used to track a child’s location and activities. Data can also be used for economic exploitation; personal data can be monetized via automated decision-making, microtargeting of advertisements, or the sale of data to third parties. Personal data is additionally used in behavioral modulation and manipulation strategies. Children are impacted by strategies designed to shape their habits, perceptions, and decisions. Finally, personal data can be used for automated decision-making based on biased algorithms, often resulting in “digital racism,” which can affect how children interact and are perceived online. UNICEF notes that automated decision-making in online services discriminates against characteristics such as gender, age, ability, language, and socioeconomic status, creating obstacles to the access of digital opportunities by all children.
Digital Safety Is More Than a Parental Duty
UNICEF rightly points out that because so many uses of data are beyond parental control, it is vital for designers and developers to take specific measures to protect children’s right to participate in safe online communities. Areas that should prioritize these rights include company governance, product and service development, and product provision. Tech companies must implement a ‘Children’s Rights by Design’ (CRbD) standard to build systems that automatically protect children, for example, by defaulting to high privacy levels. In the same way that companies take steps to protect data and ensure that employees follow data protection rules, so, too, should they actively pursue the best interests of children. Systems should collect only the data that is truly needed, not a child’s location, behaviors, or detailed profile. These companies must, in turn, be monitored by governments, regulators, and international committees that protect children’s rights.
Parents Can Also Safeguard Their Children
Parents can also take steps to keep their children’s personal data private. Education begins with teaching kids the basics, such as never to share their name, address, school name, telephone number, photographs, passwords, or location. They should also know that “free” prizes can be scams, and they should avoid clicking pop-ups. Smart device use is another priority. Parents can show their children how to set secure passwords, use biometric locks, enable automatic security updates, and turn on “Find My Device” in case their devices are stolen. A third pillar of better security is the use of parental controls (including Apple Screen Time, Google Family Link, and other controls), managing app permissions (including camera and mic permissions), disabling location sharing, and setting social profiles to private. Financial and identity data should also be protected. For instance, kids should not save credit card details on their devices or use their profiles on app stores or streaming platforms. Parents should also monitor any purchases made on their children’s devices and freeze their children’s credit. Home Wi-Fi networks should also be secured (via WPA3 or WPA2 encryption). Finally, children should be taught to never chat with strangers or send photographs online, and to ignore threats, dares, or requests for secrecy.
A considerable portion of kids’ lives is lived online. As such, their data is vulnerable to scammers and other malicious actors. As UNICEF points out, companies developing apps, games, and social media sites must take steps to ensure that children’s rights are protected. Parents can go the extra mile by teaching children how to use the Internet safely and responsibly.
