Rethinking Youth Privacy

Abstract

Congress and state legislatures are showing renewed interest in youth privacy, proposing myriad new laws to address data extraction, addiction, manipulation, and more. Almost all of their proposals and all of youth privacy law in general follows what we call the parental control model. The model is erected in the name of children, but it mostly ignores their expressed privacy interests. Under the model, parents are asked to provide consent for corporate collection of children's data, to check on the handling of that data, and to protect children from online dangers. Because parental control dominates policymaking and scholarly discourse, it goes unquestioned. This Article challenges the status quo. Parental control risks harm to vulnerable children, overburdens caregivers (who are more often women), and denies youth the intimate privacy that they need to grow and develop close relationships, including, ironically, with their parents. The parental control model disserves nearly everyone involved except companies that press for its adoption because it earns them massive advertising profits without costly responsibilities for youth safety and privacy. The time is now to reimagine the youth privacy project. We need to shed the yoke of exclusive parental control and protect the intimate privacy that youth want, expect, and deserve. Our proposal foregrounds youth voices and intimate privacy interests. It calls for policymakers to place responsibility on corporate shoulders where it belongs, which accords with what young people say they want. Companies are best situated to secure youth privacy and to minimize risks to child safety. Beyond law, parents should be encouraged to act more as partners with their children in the effort to protect their intimate privacy. That personal imperative will redound to parents' and children's benefit and engender trust and love.