Children's data protection vs marketing companies

Abstract

The opportunity that the Internet represents for children is undeniable. The increasing amount of children's personal data collected online raises an issue balance: how to protect children's privacy without impeding the development of children's online opportunities. Businesses collect children's personal data in order to profile and target them. Aware of the risks such practices represent for children's data protection, the US Congress has legislated the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (the so-called ‘COPPA’) which became effective in April 2000. In Europe, the collection and use of personal data is covered by the 1995/46 European Directive which has the fundamental aim of protecting individual privacy. The Directive does not, however, distinguish between data subjects who are adults and those who are children: it provides no specific protection for children's privacy.This paper considers the different approaches adopted in the USA and in Europe with regard to children's online data protection. In parallel, it appears that soft law is used as a new tool to regulate children's privacy. Particular attention will be paid to soft law adopted in the UK and in France.