HOw does the data protection act 1998 relate to the protection of children?
The first principle of data protection law is that personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully, and that one or more specified conditions must be met. Perhaps the most important of those conditions affecting the collection and use of personal data via websites is: “The data subject has given his consent to the processing.” (Data Protection Act 1998, Schedule 2, paragraph 2) This raises the question of when a child can be taken to have consented to the processing of his or her personal data. The DPA 1998 does not itself explicitly deal with the issue of obtaining consent from children.
