ARCHIVES
VOL. 2, ISSUE 3 (2026)
Between protection and participation: Rethinking children's privacy and consent in India’s digital data protection regime
Authors
Dr. Inderjit Kumar, Mehak Ahuja
Abstract
Children now learn,
play, communicate and create through services that routinely collect personal
and behavioural data. These services widen access to education and expression,
but they also expose children to profiling, targeted persuasion, dark patterns,
image-based abuse and lasting digital footprints. This article asks whether
India's child-data framework, centred on verifiable parental consent,
adequately protects children while respecting their participation and evolving
capacities. It adopts a doctrinal method and examines the Constitution, the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 25, the Digital
Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules,
2025, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and allied laws. The article finds
that parental consent is necessary but cannot carry the full burden of
protection. Consent may be hurried, poorly informed or practically compelled,
especially when schools require digital platforms. A uniform threshold of
eighteen also gives insufficient attention to adolescent maturity, while age
verification can itself demand more personal data. The article proposes a
four-part child-centric model based on necessity, age-appropriate
participation, non-exploitative design and effective remedies. It recommends
privacy-protective defaults, child-friendly notices, adolescent assent, limits
on profiling, child-rights impact assessments, specific EdTech safeguards and
coordinated grievance mechanisms.
Download
Pages:1-6
How to cite this article:
Dr. Inderjit Kumar, Mehak Ahuja "Between protection and participation: Rethinking children's privacy and consent in India’s digital data protection regime". World Journal of Law, Vol 2, Issue 3, 2026, Pages 1-6
Download Author Certificate
Please enter the email address corresponding to this article submission to download your certificate.