Volume 18, No. 6, 2021
Children Online Privacy Law- (Lacks Rational Classification For Effective Use Of Internet By Children)
Ms. Sumedha Ganjoo , Dr. Garima Tiwari
Abstract
Any individual under the age of 18 is classified as a child under the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019. His or her data cannot be handled without the approval of his or her parents or guardians. The Srikrishna Committee, which drafted the bill, indicated that the 18-year-old age was selected to be consistent with other domestic regulations. It was decided that the cut-off age was too high and that it should be altered to take into account a child's development. In contrast to India's approach, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in the United States has set the age of consent at 13, with verified parental approval required only for children under the age of 13. The General Data Protection Regulation in Europe specifies a range of 13 to 16 years. There is no distinction between a 17-year-old and a 13-year-old under the PDP Bill, 2019. It has the same standards for all age groups, and no kid under the age of 18 has the right to provide their permission to their data being processed. Such broad limitations may prevent youngsters from making effective use of the internet. We live in an era where information literacy has accelerated the rate of mental development in youngsters, who are now capable of becoming stakeholders in society building and guiding legislation. “Greta Thunberg”, a 17-year-old Swedish environmental activist who utilises social media to increase climate change awareness, is a good illustration. Because there is no grading system for permission, service providers may adopt a risk-averse stance and just exclude minors from using internet-based services. This paper examines the PDP Bill, focusing on the collecting and processing of personal data on minors. There is also a comparison study based on the processing of children's data under EU and US data protection legislation.
Pages: 436-446
Keywords: Processing Children’s data, Children’s Internet right, Data protection laws, GDPR.