2 results
Strengthening Children’s Rights to Privacy and Data Protection in the Digital Environment: Walking the Tightrope in the EU
- Edited by Philip Czech, Universität Salzburg, Lisa Heschl, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria, Karin Lukas, Central European University, Budapest, Manfred Nowak, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, Gerd Oberleitner, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria
-
- Book:
- European Yearbook on Human Rights 2023
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 04 April 2024
- Print publication:
- 30 November 2023, pp 391-436
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
ABSTRACT
In today's digital landscape, the widespread processing of children's personal data is prominent. Among the various contexts where this occurs (such as the home, school or in administrative environments), one notable feature is the ever-increasing interaction between children and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Considering recent technological and legal developments, this contribution focuses on the latest legislative and policy changes in the European Union (EU) which specifically address children's rights to privacy and data protection in the digital environment. In the past few years, EU Member States have implemented the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR ) into their national legal frameworks, mostly updating their national data protection Acts. One of the novelties introduced by the GDPR relates to the requirement of specific protection of children's personal data and the concrete rules associated therewith. Recent developments in three countries, namely the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, serve as clear examples of national authorities treating the crucial obligation of safeguarding children's personal data with greater seriousness. These states adopted what we will refer to as ‘Children's Codes’ , incorporating the GDPR and providing for more stringent and detailed requirements not only to implement children's rights to privacy and data protection, but also the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its general principles (children's best interests, rights to non-discrimination and development, and the right to be heard ). In addition to the developments concerning the legislative and policy frameworks relevant for children's rights to privacy and data protection in the EU, this contribution outlines some of the tools and mechanisms provided by the three Children's Codes. This leads to recommendations for amendments and additional measures that could also be adopted by other European authorities, nationally or at EU level (such as by the European Data Protection Board). It focuses particularly on the importance of the specific protection of children's personal data, the principles of fairness and transparency, the ways to apply the best interests of the child in practice, and the potential of data protection impact assessments, as well as the precautionary principle, to constitute practical ways of strengthening the protection of children's privacy and data protection rights in the digital environment.
Chapter 8 - AI and Data Protection: the Case of Smart Home Assistants
- Edited by Jan De Bruyne, Cedric Vanleenhove
-
- Book:
- Artificial Intelligence and the Law
- Published by:
- Intersentia
- Published online:
- 26 May 2021
- Print publication:
- 11 February 2021, pp 173-206
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
INTRODUCTION
1. Currently, economic actors do not only track online behaviour of consumers but also gather information about the offline world through domestic appliances that are connected to the internet – also known as the ‘internet of things’ or IoT. The information collected can range from objective facts, such as the ambient temperature, to very personal data concerning its users. This contribution focuses on one specific application of AI in a domestic IoT setting: smart home assistants (SHAs).
2. Smart home assistants can be approached from two angles. First, there is the futurist point of view. According to this viewpoint, a technology can only be called a ‘smart home assistant’ if it pulls together data from different devices in the home, builds a real-time profile of the conditions in the home, and takes actions according to a combination of such analyses and commands issued by the home owner. However, when observing the real-life landscape it is clear that we are still far-removed from a widespread implementation of such SHAs. Although consumers increasingly own individual smart devices and household appliances, the only IoT devices that manage to achieve a considerable uptake percentage are home assistants, smart speakers and smart watches. Furthermore, there is scepticism among consumers regarding the need for a central control system vis-à-vis individual controls by different devices and apps, which is possibly explained by the lack of trust consumers have in the security of these devices.
3. This contribution therefore takes a realistic angle and chooses to investigate the currently most widely used SHAs: the combination of a smart speaker with a virtual personal assistant (VPA). Around 24% of the population in the United States now have at least one such a device and adopters on average have 2.6 such devices in their home. A recent UK survey revealed that 22% of those interviewed owned such a device. In the Netherlands around 19% of the population is estimated to have a smart speaker in their household. For Belgium, no numbers were found.