Children’s privacy in the digital age: US and UK experiences and policy responses

Children need, and have the right to, privacy and heightened data protection. Privacy enables autonomy and growth and is undermined by excessive scrutiny or lack of respect for their agency in sharing personal information. Through case studies of parents, schools, health services, and commerce, we examine US and UK policy regarding children’s privacy in the context of the “datafication” of children’s digital lives. Policies variously seek to regulate the companies that are involved in and profit from children’s data and to strengthen digital literacy among children, parents, and the public. The balance between regulation and education is struck differently around the world, influenced by culture, legal frameworks, and educational ethos. Policy responses in the US and the UK value educational interventions, introducing privacy and data literacy into the school curriculum, and raising parents’ awareness of the importance of protecting their children’s privacy in digital contexts, to improve children’s safety and build their resilience against commercial exploitation. However, US privacy protection stems from consumer protection, prioritizing parental authority in protecting children’s privacy and offering children different levels of privacy protection as compared with the UK and EU privacy and data protection grounded in human rights.