COVID-19, Edtech, Privacy and Children

COVID-19, Edtech, Privacy and Children

Damian Clifford

Research Presentation

As schools go online during COVID-19, the impact of this move on the digital privacy of students, both in the short and long term, is being given little consideration. Comparing the Australian regulatory framework to the US and the European Union, we look at the literature on children’s privacy and interrogate what role Australian law can have here. Legal changes are required for a more uniform approach among States in Australia, as well as strengthened baseline data protections for children, rather than relying primarily on the adoption of a parental consent model in the Australian Privacy Act.

This paper has been presented at the Privacy and Pandemics Information Network, June Roundtable,  Melbourne Law School, Monday 15th June 2020.