[Paper Review] Children and the Data Cycle: Rights and Ethics in a Big Data World

Gabrielle Berman, Kerry Albright|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jan 1, 2017

Ethics and Social Impacts of AI5 references11 citations

TL;DR

This paper advocates for the integration of child rights and ethical principles into big data science, proposing a rights-based framework across the entire data lifecycle—from collection to destruction. It calls for tailored ethical standards, stakeholder collaboration, and child-inclusive governance to protect children’s privacy and participation in the digital age, especially given their disproportionate vulnerability to data misuse.

ABSTRACT

In an era of increasing dependence on data science and big data, the voices of one set of major stakeholders - the world's children and those who advocate on their behalf - have been largely absent. A recent paper estimates one in three global internet users is a child, yet there has been little rigorous debate or understanding of how to adapt traditional, offline ethical standards for research, involving data collection from children, to a big data, online environment (Livingstone et al., 2015). This paper argues that due to the potential for severe, long-lasting and differential impacts on children, child rights need to be firmly integrated onto the agendas of global debates about ethics and data science. The authors outline their rationale for a greater focus on child rights and ethics in data science and suggest steps to move forward, focussing on the various actors within the data chain including data generators, collectors, analysts and end users. It concludes by calling for a much stronger appreciation of the links between child rights, ethics and data science disciplines and for enhanced discourse between stakeholders in the data chain and those responsible for upholding the rights of children globally.

Motivation & Objective

• To address the lack of ethical frameworks tailored for children in big data environments.
• To highlight the unique vulnerabilities of children in data collection, analysis, and use due to their developmental and legal status.
• To advocate for child rights to be central in global debates on data science and ethics.
• To propose a multi-stakeholder, rights-based approach across the data chain involving data generators, collectors, analysts, and end users.
• To call for enhanced dialogue between child rights advocates, data scientists, and policymakers to ensure ethical data practices for children.

Proposed method

• Adopting Canavillas' (2016) definition of big data as large, complex datasets requiring advanced analytics beyond traditional processing.
• Applying a rights-based approach grounded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to guide ethical data practices.
• Mapping the full data cycle—collection, analysis, storage, sharing, and destruction—through a child-centered ethical lens.
• Proposing context-specific, multi-layered ethical solutions tailored to different actors in the data chain (e.g., data collectors, analysts, policymakers).
• Emphasizing the need for transparency, informed consent (adapted for children’s evolving capacities), and privacy-enhancing technologies.
• Promoting education and capacity-building across stakeholders, including children, parents, and data practitioners, on data ethics and rights.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can traditional offline ethical standards for research involving children be adapted to the realities of big data and digital environments?
• RQ2 What are the unique risks and long-term impacts of big data collection and analysis on children’s rights, particularly privacy and participation?
• RQ3 How can child rights be meaningfully integrated into global data science governance and policy frameworks?
• RQ4 What roles should different stakeholders—children, parents, data collectors, analysts, and regulators—play in ensuring ethical data practices?
• RQ5 What mechanisms can ensure that children’s voices and rights are not marginalized in the design and implementation of big data systems?

Key findings

• Children are disproportionately affected by big data due to their developmental vulnerability, limited capacity for informed consent, and high exposure to data collection.
• Current ethical frameworks for research are insufficient for big data contexts, especially when data is passively collected, automatically processed, and used beyond academic settings.
• There is a critical need for ethical standards that go beyond traditional research protocols and apply across the entire data lifecycle, including data destruction and anonymization.
• Existing initiatives such as UN Global Pulse’s Privacy Impact Assessment and UNHCR’s data protection policy provide promising models but lack child-specific focus.
• The absence of child representation in data governance debates undermines the protection of their rights, despite growing global data use involving children.
• A coordinated, international, and child-inclusive approach to data ethics is essential to ensure that big data serves children’s best interests and upholds their rights to privacy, participation, and non-discrimination.