Children's data and privacy online: growing up in a digital age: an evidence review

Children’s autonomy and dignity as actors in the world depends on both their freedom to engage and their freedom from undue persuasion or influence. In a digital age in which many everyday actions generate data – whether given by digital actors, observable from digital traces, or inferred by others, whether human or algorithmic – the relation between privacy and data online is becoming highly complex. This in turn sets a significant media literacy challenge for children (and their parents and teachers) as they try to understand and engage critically with the digital environment. With growing concerns over children’s privacy and the commercial uses of their data, it is vital that children’s understandings of the digital environment, their digital skills and their capacity to consent are taken into account in designing services, regulation and policy. Using systematic evidence mapping, we reviewed the existing knowledge on children’s data and privacy online, identified research gaps and outlined areas of potential policy and practice development