Designing for the Digital Child: Data Protection, Ethics, and the Law
As children increasingly engage with digital technologies—whether through apps, educational platforms, gaming, or social media—their personal data is being collected, processed, and stored at unprecedented rates. This brings with it serious legal, ethical, and operational challenges for businesses.
The privacy risks are far-reaching: exposure to harmful content (e.g., pornography, violence), exploitation by malicious adults, cyberbullying among peers, long-term data misuse, and even psychological manipulation through addictive design. Given their age and vulnerability, minors require elevated safeguards and a fundamentally different approach to data protection.
At Jiri Legal, we advise organisations on their legal obligations and best practices when processing minors’ data, helping to ensure compliance while mitigating reputational and regulatory risk.
Key legal themes when processing children’s personal data
1. Transparency obligations
Organisations must clearly and accessibly communicate how data is collected and used. For services likely to be accessed by children, this includes providing privacy notices in plain, age-appropriate language, avoiding legalese, dark patterns, or manipulative consent flows.
2. Duty of care
There is an implied—and often explicit—duty of care when providing digital services to children. Under laws like the GDPR (Art. 5 and 6), the UK Children’s Code (Age Appropriate Design Code), and similar global frameworks, organisations must take proactive steps to prevent harm. This includes implementing content moderation, ensuring safe defaults, and minimizing behavioural profiling.
3. User-centric and child-friendly design
Children are inherently vulnerable and may not fully understand the implications of data sharing. Legal frameworks increasingly demand that digital services consider the best interests of the child as a primary concern—requiring additional safeguards, opt-ins rather than opt-outs, and designs that support agency and wellbeing.
Core Compliance Principles for Organisations
To meet your obligations and avoid regulatory penalties, we recommend integrating the following foundational principles into your data processing practices:
· Adequate security measures: Encrypt personal data, restrict internal access, and monitor for breaches.
· Adherence to privacy principles: Uphold the GDPR’s principles—lawfulness, fairness, purpose limitation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity, and accountability.
· Data minimisation: Collect only the data strictly necessary for the service. Non-essential features should be optional and not gated behind compulsory disclosures.
· Effective transparency: Provide layered privacy notices that are digestible for children and easily accessible to parents or guardians.
· Internal training and oversight: Ensure that teams working with children’s data are trained on child protection and data privacy regulations.
· Risk assessment and mitigation: Conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) where there is a high risk to children's rights or freedoms.
Closing considerations for business leaders & developers
1. Age verification and access controls
Consider implementing age verification tools that balance user experience with the nature of the risk posed. A tiered approach based on the sensitivity of the service or content may be appropriate.
2. Privacy by design & default
Embed data protection from the earliest stages of product development. Design features that default to the highest level of privacy, with clear, granular user controls.
3. A child-centric approach
Remember: compliance isn’t enough. Platforms must also be practically usable and understandable for children. Interfaces, support mechanisms, and privacy settings should all be designed with their cognitive and emotional development in mind.
How We Can Help
At Jiri Legal, we assist clients in the technology, media, education, and consumer sectors in developing child-compliant privacy strategies. From DPIAs and policy reviews to audit support and product advisory, we help you meet your legal obligations and build safer, more responsible digital environments.
For tailored guidance or a consultation on children’s data protection, contact us today.
Disclaimer: This article has been co-authored with the assistance of generative AI tools and reviewed by our legal team to ensure accuracy and relevance. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, please contact a qualified solicitor.
