Children’s privacy: The role of parental control and consent

Abstract

Protecting children’s informational privacy has never been more difficult. To what extent does it depend upon parental control and consent, and how is this factor incorporated into the law seeking to protect children’s informational privacy? This article addresses these questions, considering the relevant jurisprudence of the English courts, in particular under the tort of misuse of private information, and the relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this article I argue that the relevant jurisprudence in both jurisdictions reveals a doctrine that prioritises parental control and consent, above the harm of intrusion to the child. This risks laying a legal terrain that does not accommodate the protection and vindication of children’s informational privacy rights when they conflict with the wishes of, or are not actively protected by, that child’s parents.