Childhood Archives - Dialogues on European Digital Transition

What do children and adolescents need on the Internet? Tune into the conference ‘The survival of minors in a data-driven world’

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom November 7, 2022November 7, 2022Childhood, Data Protection, Privacy, Spanish Agency for Data Protection

Being a child or teenager in the digital age is a very different experience from what previous generations had. From a very early age, minors are exposed to the fact that, through the Internet and social networks, their personal data is commercialized, and this use of private information can have consequences for the future that we barely perceive. And, like adults, they also suffer from some of the most harmful effects of the Internet, such as false information or the creation of information bubbles. In this, the big tech companies do not discriminate: the algorithm knows virtually nothing about being of legal age.

The challenge of mixing ethics with algorithms

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom September 30, 2022October 7, 2022Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Childhood, Digital rights

Development of the fourth industrial revolution, with the continual expansion of big data, artificial intelligence and algorithms, poses enormously important challenges that far transcend the world of technology. A new society is being shaped that requires a new social pact, based on an ethical commitment in the use of algorithms, with full respect for fundamental human rights and adaptation of these basic protections to the digital environment.

Children and algorithms: this is how we opened the door to online monitoring of students during the pandemic

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom May 30, 2022May 30, 2022Artificial Intelligence, Childhood, coronavirus

We had no choice: Starting in spring 2020, with the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, children all over the world continued their schooling via online classes. And it was, in this dramatic context, a solution; undoubtedly, much better than being away from schooling for months and months due to a lack of means and connectivity.

Internet and minors: Europe must react

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom December 10, 2021December 15, 2021Childhood, Consumers, Digital rights

In the digital economy we are all, several times a day, a product. Because if the product is free, the product is us. We’re all more or less aware of this reality, which years ago went unnoticed. But we are still acting as if we were blindfolded. An Internet search engine, our favourite social network, the blue dot we follow on the map when we visit another city… we think everything is free, but it isn’t. Paying with data is paying, and with our data large technology platforms, from the United States or China, are building empires that now border on monopolies.

Digital rights of minors online

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom November 23, 2021November 23, 2021Childhood, Digital rights, United Nations

The Fundación ANAR (abbreviation for Ayuda a Niños y Adolescentes en Riesgo, a group that helps at-risk children and adolescents) has been working for more than half a century to ensure promotion and defence of the rights of children and adolescents within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In recent years, our work has been transformed by the impact of technology, which has a transversal effect on all the problems found in childhood and adolescence.

World Children’s Day: the big tech business model is toxic for children and adolescents

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom November 16, 2021November 17, 2021Childhood, Conference on the Future of Europe, Digital rights, European Commission

The digital environment should be friendly and safe for minors. However, reality shows that websites and social networks have become a risk for children and adolescents, who suffer online from harassment, violence, intimidation… and are exposed to all kinds of content, from inappropriate advertisements to extreme pornography. Meanwhile, their data is commercialised by the large platforms that make up the Internet, who take little action to control these serious problems.

The EADT, with support from the European Commission, organises an event on the digital rights of children and adolescents

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom November 5, 2021November 8, 2021Childhood, Conference on the Future of Europe, Digital rights, European Commission

World Children’s Day is again being celebrated this coming November 20th, a date chosen by the United Nations to commemorate the day in 1959 when the Declaration on the Rights of the Child was adopted. On this occasion, the European Association for Digital Transition, EADT, in collaboration with the European Commission, has organised the event “Digital Rights of Minors Online”. It will take place on November 15th at the headquarters of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain, and can also be followed in streaming.

“We need awareness, so it’s good for Facebook’s scandals to be known”

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom October 22, 2021November 3, 2021Childhood, Data Protection, Digital rights, Facebook, Privacy

The vice president of the European Association for Digital Transition, Ana Caballero, was recently interviewed on the video blog La España que reúne, a civil society group that defends consensus around the major values in the Spanish Constitution of 1978. In her comments, Caballero spoke about the principles that drive the European Association for Digital Transition, with a special section dedicated to the latest Facebook’s scandals.

Back to school with a pending subject: control of data

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom September 15, 2021September 15, 2021Amazon, Childhood, Data Protection, Education, Privacy

A school year begins in September in which the educational community intends to leave the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the background and focus on what really matters: the education of citizens and professionals adapted to the challenges of a complex and technologised world.

Data and digital rights: What you should know about children’s apps

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom July 13, 2021September 22, 2021Childhood, Data Protection, Digital rights, Privacy

Children interact with technology at increasingly younger ages, which raises concerns about protecting their privacy, security, and confidentiality in the digital environment. Although laws have been passed in recent years, incorporating specific articles into existing legislation and creating rules to regulate cookies and illegal advertising, many adults don’t know what rules exist or what they should consider when young children use mobile phones and tablets.

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