As of right now, Canada lacks any meaningful policies that specifically ensure children’s rights are protected
In parallel, platforms and the services children use daily are designed largely without kids’ needs or rights in mind. In fact, most ignore children as a specific category of users altogether, despite global consensus that kids are disproportionately affected online, given that both their development and early use of digital technologies shape their experiences online. Children and young people are simply treated as.
This is precisely why governments and children’s rights experts around the world are calling for the ‘best interest of the child’ to be a primary consideration in all decisions to regulate online activity. Set out by the, the best interests of children include safety, health and freedom of expression, but importantly, they also include wellbeing, psychological and emotional development, identity, and the freedom to form individual views.
The United Kingdom is leading the charge to safeguard children’s rights. Their recently passed Children’s Code makes it very difficult for companies to collect, share and use children’s data while giving anyone under 18 the utmost privacy over their personal data. The UK has shown that it takes the best interest of children seriously — especially when they stand in contrast to commercial interest.