He
Hey, Jamie.
OK, I'm going to throw some facts at you.
I don't want you to overthink it.
I just want to get your first thoughts and reactions.
Cool?
Yeah, sure.
OK.
Did you know Canada doesn't have any laws
specifically protecting the privacy of children online?
No, I did not know that. That's pretty crazy, actually.
Yeah, so according to the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child, you have a right to privacy,
but there is no laws in Canada backing it up online.
How does that make you feel?
Yeah, kind of shocked, to be honest.
I didn't expect that.
OK, good, me too.
So you want to take it on for your next assignment?
Yeah, sure.
I'm at the CBC building in Toronto,
and while my producer, Jamie, is around the corner setting up
some gear for our shoot, I'm going to tell you what's up.
So, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, it basically outlines human rights
for everyone under the age of 18.
And many different countries adopt these rights,
basically declaring that they will uphold them.
These rights are written in articles,
54 of them to be exact.
Which brings us to Article 16.
It's written in some stuffy legal speak,
but it basically outlines the right to privacy.
That right, it doesn't mean anything if
there are no laws to uphold it, which is why many different
countries have them, especially when it comes to the internet.
Arjun!
Oh, got to go.
In the US, there's COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy
and Protection Act.
And in Europe, there's the GDPR-K,
which is similar to COPPA in that it specifically
protects children's privacy and information online.
We good?
In Canada, there is no child-specific
law protecting the privacy of kids online.
So is that even a big deal? Why does it even matter?
Let's find out.
Would you hold this please?
[producer] We're gonna make a blooper.
Don't make me laugh.
♪♪♪
We're on our way to speak with Terence Hamilton,
a policy specialist at UNICEF Canada.
UNICEF Canada releases reports on children's rights
and their well-being.
So I figured they could shed some light on internet privacy
in Canada, and how we stack up versus other countries.
♪♪♪
Want me to do an intro?
[producer] Yeah, just like, thanks for having us.
You know, we appreciate you taking
the time, something like that.
I want to start by thanking you for taking
the time to speak with us today.
Yeah, my pleasure.
Does Canada have laws in place to protect young
people when they're online on the internet?
So Canada has privacy laws that apply
in all contexts, including online.
The laws were written for general
application and they weren't written
specifically with children in mind.
The US has COPPA and Europe has similar privacy laws as well,
so why doesn't Canada have something similar?
So Canada's privacy laws are pretty dated.
They were developed
before the internet became a thing.
And so, Canada is updating those laws.
The way that Bill 27 has been laid out, it does a really
good job of protecting people's privacy, but it's
reacting to privacy violations as opposed to being proactive.
Jurisdictions that are doing-- that have the best
privacy laws on the books, they have been proactive
in requiring tech companies to design their services
with the interests of children in mind.
What we're saying is because that online space is such a big
part of young people's lives, we have to ensure that
the same rights and protections that they have
in the "IRL" world apply in the online world as well.
Yeah.
[producer] Great.
That's it, that's good.
OK, so the government is trying to pass a bill
that could bolster up privacy laws
specifically for young people in Canada.
For example, limiting how much private information a company
could collect when you, say, sign up for an app.
The law would set fines for companies who didn't follow
the rules, like $25 million for really serious offences.
But Bill C27 is making its way through a long process.
OK, I'm about to hop on a call with my
producer to wrap this up.
Hey, Jamie, just finished my last stand up.
Great, you good to do a little outro?
Yeah, sure. Let's do it.
OK, sweet. Can you move the camera to the other spot
and we'll start recording?
All right, bet.
OK, I've learned a lot.
Canada is definitely cooking up something,
but at the moment this video is published,
there are no specific laws protecting kids privacy online.
For CBC Kids News, I'm Arjun Ram.