Peer-reviewed article
THE RIGHT TO ONLINE DATA PROTECTION OF CHILDREN: EXAMINING THE ADEQUACY OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORKS TO COMBAT CHILD ONLINE DATA BREACHES IN NIGERIA
Thummim Iyoha-Osagie, Orji Ikechukwu George, Bridgeton Partners, Abuja, Nigeria ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines whether Nigeria's legal frameworks adequately protect children's online data from breaches. Children make up about one in three internet users globally and regularly share personal data through devices, apps and websites, yet this data is frequently sold or misused. While Nigeria recently enacted a Data Protection Act, the paper argues it has significant gaps compared to international standards like the UK's Age Appropriate Design Code and US COPPA. The study recommends strengthening legislation, improving online safety measures, requiring privacy-by-design approaches, and enhancing parental controls.
Key points
- Approximately one in three internet users worldwide are under 18 years old
- Children's personal data is being breached by schools, governments, online platforms and parents, and sometimes sold or used for criminal activities
- Nigeria lacked adequate legal provisions for child online data protection until the Nigeria Data Protection Act was enacted
- International frameworks exist including COPPA (US), ICO Children's Code/Age Appropriate Design Code (UK), and GDPR
- The paper recommends amendments to legislation, privacy-by-design approaches, online safety awareness, and parental control measures
Limitations
This is a legal and policy analysis paper rather than an empirical study, so it does not provide data on the actual extent or impact of child data breaches in Nigeria or quantify harm to children. The paper cannot tell us the frequency, severity or outcomes of data breaches affecting Nigerian children.
Abstract
With the rise of digital technology and massive migration to the internet for daily activities, personal data of children is being breached on a large scale by schools, government, online platforms and even parents. It has been estimated that approximately one in three users of the Internet worldwide are under the age of eighteen. In addition to being increasingly active online, children also continue to depend on the Internet for a variety of uses such as play, communication and education. This implies that data belonging to children are frequently being collected through the use of gadgets, applications, and websites, and are sometimes sold or used for criminal activities. Several guidelines regarding children's online data protection have emerged globally such as the United States’ Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA"), United Kingdom’s ICO Children's Code (or Age Appropriate Design Code), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). However, there was no adequate provision for the protection of children’s data in Nigeria until the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act which is a step in the right direction, but is not without its flaws. This paper seeks to determine the adequacy of the legal frameworks generally in Nigeria to deal with child data breaches. It takes a comparative approach by analysing several legal frameworks in other jurisdictions, and proffers recommendations including amendment of legislations, online safety measures and awareness, privacy and data protection by design approaches for companies and adequate parental control measures.