European Children to Get Control of Their Pre-Generated Data Upon Adulthood
March 21 2008 / by Alvis Brigis / In association with Future Blogger.net
Category: Education Year: 2008 Rating: 9
A key European government committee has established a set of general privacy guidelines that give children control over their previously generated data upon reaching adulthood.
Earlier this week the Working Party, an independent advisory
body on data protection and privacy composed of data protection
officials from various European countries, published a
comprehensive 
document that lays out a long list of protocols and
recommendations concerning children’s data, particularly the
digital information collected over the course of a school
career.
The new rules establish that “[i]f the processing of a child’s data began with the consent of their representative, the child concerned may, on attaining majority, revoke the consent. But if he wishes the processing to continue, it seems that the data subject need give explicit consent wherever this is required.”
As more and more data is captured and stored, these regulations are a necessary reaction to the potential for misuse and lay the groundwork for a whole new set of developmental digital rights.
“The rationale of this principle is that a person who has not yet achieved physical and psychological maturity needs more protection than others,” the experts explain about the decision, “Its aim is to improve conditions for the child, and aims to strengthen the child’s right to the development of his or her personality. This principle must be respected by all entities, public or private, which make decisions relating to children.”
(cont.)
