"In Canada, there is no legislation that deals specifically with children’s privacy or data protection, nor are there specific provisions in PIPEDA that address this issue. A report by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has noted that the 'average age of children who use the Internet appears to be dropping, and the implications on their privacy need careful attention from public policy makers. . . . Many experts have stated that ensuring children’s personal information is protected is an area that needs more attention.'"
I'm surprised that Canada has no legislation to protect minors online. This means that parents have all kinds of say in what they do with their children's online identities. However, I also feel that when such legislation does eventually come around, it is unlikely that the first point of discussion will be how parents handle their children's online presence, and who owns that material. Technically, parents are supposed to know what's best for their children, but that's not always the case.
Retrieve from: Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/law/help/online-privacy-law/canada.php
True,there should be legislation to protect the rights of minors. It should extend to the privacy of other vulnerable persons as well.For example,adults who have the mental capacity of children. Children and other vulnerable people do not have much of a voice and we must be a voice for them. Unfortunately, public discourse does not tend to focus on their rights so you're right that it's unlikely to be the first point of debate.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, can someone's ability to make decisions for themselves be quantified? Measuring, as well as putting a "responsible" person in charge are challenging factors to handle objectively.
ReplyDeleteThanks for points out there's no legislation available in Canada.
ReplyDeleteHowever, even PIPEDA is only to protect children from commercial interest, but not from parents.
I agree with you that forming the regulation in Canada will not take the tension between children and parents as priority.
Upon reading Julie E. Cohen's configuring the Networked Self: Law, Code, and the play of Everyday practice, there's some interesting points available to further think about the inadequacy of the current regulation. She points out in the Chapter four, that privacy theorists often argue privacy is shielding an autonomous, rational actor from harm. Is it because that children doesn't fit in this frame of privacy, so regulation just delegating their privacy right to their parents?
In addition, Cohen also mentions privacy theorists concerns the relationship between selfhood and society. Privacy could be function as protecting selfhood being intruded by society. However, she points out that privacy theorists often don't concern how the selfhood being developed. If privacy theory could put much more weight on how selfhood, identity being formed, I believe the regulation will consider how children's identity is being developed by having their own privacy.