The Virtual Child

‘Protecting the Virtual Child – the law and children’s consent to sharing personal data’

 Increasing amounts of sensitive information about children and their families are shared between education, health and social care services. The Government’s Information Sharing Guidance says that children from around the age of 12 can usually give valid consent to allow this personal information to be shared.

 During the past year, ARCH has been funded by the Nuffield Foundation to explore the legal basis for assertions about children’s capacity to consent to data-sharing and to examine practice in local authorities. We have consulted a number of academic and practising lawyers with knowledge of consent issues, and interviewed staff from the Information Commissioner’s Office, the General Medical Council and the British Medical Association.

 Other countries within the EU approach the subject of children’s consent in different ways, and so ARCH also commissioned a study of children’s consent in 7 EU countries. This was carried out by Professor Douwe Korff, a specialist in EU data protection and human rights law.

 ARCH’s full report: ‘Protecting the Virtual Child – the law and children’s consent to sharing personal data’ can be downloaded in pdf format here.