As a Blogger who is a mom ,I am often approached for collaborations where the brand wants pictures or videos my daughter to use the product.
As parents we have long avoided excessive screen usage for our child.But this was a topic which we never even thought about before offers came.
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The answer was a “No” for us each time.Some brands respected that and we worked around the concept, some others had a different brand messaging.
What with Ryan being the most popular YouTube channel and highest revenue generating channel ,its no wonder kids are the target for many advertising.
But how healthy is it ?Is it even legal?What about mental health issues of child influenzers?
The health part I will deal with on another interview but on this blog post and Podcast ,I interview Noor Anand Chawla a lawyer about this sticky topic of privacy laws and child influenzers.
We talk parenting,parental aspiration,social media exposure ,money and what the law says .
Should kids be on the internet?Is it good for their health and body image?What kind of legal protection do they have when it comes to Privacy laws.The legal part is what we are talking about today with Noor Anand Chawla.She is a lawyer specializing in Intellectual property law .Ms Noor breaks down the nitty gritty of Childrens rights to digital privacy ,about a parent’s role and what the law says.
Bottomline:As a parent you have big responsibility.
Q: What does the privacy law for minors in India cover? Is the Children’s Online Privacy protection act in India clear?
Ans: India does not have clear laws that are equivalent to the American COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). For years, all cases related to the online privacy of children have been adjudged on the basis of adhoc executive rulings, court cases and discussions. Currently there are no formal ways of ensuring responsible behaviour, but the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill currently being tabled in the Parliament will address this need.
The PDP Bill was introduced to Parliament in 2019 and is currently under deliberation.
The most notable feature of this Bill, is that it has a section covering minors under the age of 18, the highest age of children in all data protection laws thus far. COPPA in the United States protects children under 13 years of age, China’s Standard covers children under 14 years old while in Europe, GDPR-K covers those under 16 years old.
According to the bill, any company that uses information from minors would need to do so in “a manner that protects and advances the rights and best interests of the child”. This means incorporating strong mechanisms for age verification and parental consent. The accompanying white paper to the bill, clearly states that “the processing of personal data of children ought to be subject to greater protection than regular processing of data”.
Companies that operate websites or other online services directed at children, or process large volumes of personal data relating to children, will be unable to profile, track, monitor the behaviours of, or run targeted advertising on children, nor will they be permitted to extract personal data that could cause significant harm to the child.
The bill further proposes to:
- Give data owners greater control over how their information is used, including the right to access, to be “forgotten”, and the transference of their dossier to other companies processing data;
- Require companies that process sensitive and large amounts of personal data to submit under a Data Protection Officer who may ensure their compliance with data protection laws and liaise with the Data Protection Authority;
- Create a “Data Protection Authority” able to issue penalties of up to 4% of the global turnover, should there be a data breach.
Q: Do you think parents are unintentionally violating Children’s digital privacy?
From a legal viewpoint, parents cannot be held responsible for violating their children’s digital privacy by using their footage or creating accounts for them online. As legal guardians, parents are within their rights to do as they please with their children’s pictures and other data. Parents are also presumed by the law, to be aware of their children’s digital presence on different platforms, as well as the extent to which their children are interacting with brands or people online.
Q: What are the international laws about children’s right to digital privacy?
Ans: USA has the COPPA ACT (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) which imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.
This is why kids need to be at least 13 before getting their own Facebook and Instagram accounts. Though everyone is signing up, no matter the age, under this act they get protection/ are covered if their data or pictures are erroneously used.
Similarly, China has the Regulation on Online Protection of Children’s Personal Information up to age 14.
UK and EU follow the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR as it’s also known. Only children above the age of 13 can give their consent for their data being used similar to COPPA. Parental consent is required for children under that age.
Q: What kind of kid’s content is okay for parents to share?
Ans: There is no single answer to this question. It depends purely on one’s sensibilities and one’s personal beliefs and I dislike passing judgement- hence will not comment on this. Whatever parents feel is right for their child, is right for them!
Q: Do you share your kid’s pics and vieos in public domain?
Ans: Personally, I avoid putting my child online as much as possible, but even if and when I do put my son on there, I try to avoid full-frontal shots or try not make him the focus of the video or picture. It is a difficult decision and one must tread carefully as a content creator and parent!
AUTHOR’S BIO:
Noor Anand Chawla holds degrees from St. Stephen’s College, The Faculty of Law Delhi University and King’s College London. She is a lawyer by training, with a specialisation in Intellectual Property Laws. As a Senior Associate in the office of Mr. Sanjay Jain, Additional Solicitor General of India, she practiced at the Delhi High Court.
She pursued her passion for writing through her lifestyle blog https://nooranandchawla.com and by penning lifestyle feature columns for various newspapers and publications, including The Daily Guardian, Sunday Guardian, Business World and Sunday Standard, among others.
LinkedIn: @nooranandchawla
