iRights Campaign: Right to be Forgotten for Children Too!
It is called “iRights”, and its proposals include the right for young people to be able to easily edit or delete the content they have created online. Baroness Shields, the UK’s Internet Safety Minister, supports the move.
A report by the Children's Commissioner for England examining these rights will be published by the end of the year.
iRights aims to inspire businesses to work with the government to better protect and empower young people when they are online.
As well as supporting children's "right to be forgotten", iRights says young people have a right to digital technology and should be well informed about how their data could be used.
A range of companies and charities, including Barclays Bank, the NSPCC and law firm Schillings, have signed the campaign.
Better digital world
Baroness Shields said, “iRights gives a unique insight into how government can work with technology companies, civil society and business to make a better digital world for young people.
We use iRights across education, business and our own services and digital communications.”
Rachel O'Connell, a government adviser and founder of Trustelevate.com, said the proposals, largely represented by EU legislation, would come into force in the coming years.
She cited new data protection rules due to come into force in the UK from 2016 as an example.
Ms O'Connell added that young people were increasingly feeling the need to protect their privacy online.
'Commercial advantage'
"There is a tendency among children and young people to demand everything they can in terms of protecting their privacy, ownership of their bodies and the images they upload online," he said.
“Many businesses are realising that privacy is a commercial advantage.”
Ian Walden, a lawyer at Queen Mary University of London, said companies often needed notice to take privacy issues seriously.
"Many of the companies out there that we know and love are making huge amounts of money off of kids," he said.
"There needs to be a focus on accountability when dealing with these kids, who are not always present."
