The Information Regulator (InfoReg) is concerned over the low level of awareness among young people of the right to online privacy and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
This, as personal information and the processing thereof are regarded as the bloodline of digital life, said InfoReg chairperson, advocate Pansy Tlakula, speaking yesterday on International Data Privacy Day.
Held annually on 28 January, Data Privacy Day brings attention to the right to privacy as it relates to the protection of personal information. This year, the day was observed under the theme of strategic partnerships for promotion and protection of children’s rights online.
To mark the day, the regulator co-hosted a dialogue session, together with Naspers, in Rosebank.
The discussion sought to examine policy deficiencies and strategies for improving children's online privacy and safety, and included Siviwe Gwarube, basic education minister; Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, deputy minister in the Presidency for women, youth and persons with disabilities; scholars; legal experts; and children’s rights activists.
Tlakula said with estimates showing children account for about one-third of internet users around the world, it has become more important to protect and promote their online safety and privacy rights.
Like adults, children ‘pay’ with their personal information, to be able to participate in digital spaces as netizens, raising questions of their awareness of these requirements, she noted.
Tlakula revealed that since 2022, the regulator – working with partners such as the Human Sciences Research Council – has conducted public opinion surveys to test the levels of awareness of the right to privacy and POPIA.
“In all four instalments of these studies, young people (between the age of 18 and 24) consistently show low levels of awareness. While awareness levels are generally low (at around 42% of all respondents), young people only contributed five percentage points towards this rate of awareness.
“The question arises as to whether children and young people are enabled to make informed choices, and the correct judgement calls on the trade-offs between protecting their personal information and being able to take part in the cyber world.
“If children and young people’s participation in the cyber world can be traced back to their real lives, then this raises risks that need to be carefully studied and mitigated against.”
Tlakula noted some of these risks are heightened by the introduction of technology, such as social media platforms, artificial intelligence, gamification and extended/augmented reality.
While laws and legal frameworks exist to help protect young people’s personal information, Tlakula questioned whether they are fit-for-purpose in the context of innovative technological development.
Additionally, there are issues of consent and age verification for the processing of personal information for the purposes of participating in cyberspace, she said.
“The key question becomes: ‘Who gets to create an account for a child?’ This is important because whoever creates the account will also exercise consent rights.
“Most data protection laws provide that only adults can give consent for the processing of personal information. However, studies show online platforms are generally not very good at ensuring a legally-competent adult is the person behind the screen seeking access to an online service or product.”
Gwarube pointed out that in today’s age, people are not merely users of technology, but the product of it.
The rapid digitalisation presents both significant opportunities and significant risks, particularly for children, she stated.
“These profiles that are used to predict and influence in the near future may not only manipulate behaviour, but may have been raising some profound concerns about privacy, autonomy and ultimately about the safety of children.”
Children’s online activities, be it for learning, playing or socialising, are meticulously monitored without their knowledge or consent, Gwarube said.
Tlakula emphasised that youngsters are exposed to multiple risks, like invasive data tracking, exposure to harmful content, cyber bullying and misinformation. She noted that criminal elements exploit digital spaces to target children.
“The digital platforms they engage on are not neutral spaces, but carefully curated environments, to capture their attention and maximise their engagement.
“In light of all of these things, it’s important that − as governments, as parents, as children and as educators in civil society − we establish strong safeguards to protect and promote children's rights in the digital space.”
Gwarube commented that addressing some of these challenges requires striking a balance between enabling access to the vast opportunities offered by technology, while simultaneously protecting children from its inherent risks, in a collaborative and multi-sectoral approach.
The minister highlighted four key areas: stronger regulation and enforcement, digital literacy and education, partnerships with the private sector, and legal reforms.
“It’s important that government doesn’t just work alone, but works with various experts in the field. We’ve got to be able to make use of people who know this kind of work and see how it can influence the way in which we develop laws and policies.
“We need to make sure there is a lot more digital literacy and education. Often, particularly in schools and communities, it is the learners who are leading the revolution around digital literacy because for too long, we’ve left the educator behind.
“How can an educator be a protector of children when they themselves have been left outside of the conversation; when they are not being brought into the conversation around digital literacy, what to look out for and how they can play a protective role.”
Tlakula noted it is up to incumbent role-players to join hands to develop the necessary solutions to deal with threats to children’s privacy rights online.
“As SA’s data protection authority, the regulator may consider issuing guidelines requiring the developers and operators of digital platforms to build onto their standard operating procedures for child rights impact assessments; for instance, where the personal information of children is processed.
“We may also require the digital platforms to invest in better techniques for determining whether a child has reached the age of consent for data collection and processing.”
The regulator, she said, is keen to discourage over-processing of personal information. “We promote the full adoption of the privacy-by-design approach. This means the technical and organisational measures designed to protect children’s personal information on the digital platforms must be configured from the conceptualisation, design and implementation phases, to limit the processing of children’s personal information.
“We are also keen to explore opportunities to work with other strategic partners to cause policies, laws and regulations, and school syllabuses, to be updated to provide more awareness of the new complexities brought about by new technologies.”
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