Canada Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne has launched an exploratory consultation into developing a children’s privacy code to protect the personal information of youth online.
The consultation was opened on May 12 during Dufresne’s keynote address at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Canada Privacy Symposium held in Toronto. It progresses the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s work on children’s privacy, which includes the G7 Data Protection and Privacy Authorities’ Statement on AI and Children.
The OPC has asked child advocacy groups, businesses, parents and guardians, and educators to participate; the input will contribute to the office’s future initiatives in this area. The consultation will facilitate the development of clear, practical guidelines for companies handling children’s personal information and help ensure that high privacy and data protection standards are considered in product and service design.
The OPC said the consultation will also provide children with tools to exercise their privacy rights.
“Championing children’s privacy is a strategic priority for my office. The ultimate goal of this consultation and the resulting children’s privacy code is to create a safer, more transparent online environment for children, where they feel empowered to exercise their privacy rights, can safely explore, learn, and grow without compromising their privacy or security,” Dufresne said in a statement.
The consultation period will last until August 5. Input may be emailed to [email protected].
The OPC has previously released resolutions on the best interests of young people and deceptive design patterns in partnership with provincial and territorial counterparts. At the IAPP Canada Privacy Symposium, Dufresne supported the modernization of Canadian privacy laws and commented on a review of the OPC’s operational model that spurred a significant transformation in the office’s structure and compliance approach.
In addition to advocating for children’s privacy rights, Dufresne’s two other strategic priorities as privacy commissioner are “protecting and promoting privacy with maximum impact” and “addressing and advocating for privacy in this time of technological change,” according to the OPC.