Children’s Digital Autonomy: Moving Beyond Adult Control?

  • Panel
  • Orangerie
  • Wednesday 20.05 — 14:15 - 15:30

Organising Institution

KISA(Korea Internet & Security Agency)

South Korea

The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) is the leading statutory body in South Korea responsible for cybersecurity and personal data protection. KISA develops policy frameworks, ensures regulatory compliance, and promotes international collaboration to secure the digital ecosystem. Through its EU Privacy Cooperation Center, KISA actively engages with global stakeholders to harmonize data protection standards and facilitate secure cross-border data flows.
  • Academic 2
  • Business 2
  • Policy 2
In an era where children’s personal data is routinely processed on digital platforms, who truly controls this information? South Korea’s 'Delete the Children' campaign highlights the risks of AI exploitation and unauthorized data use, showing that the issue extends beyond simple access control. The rise of 'sharenting' further complicates children’s digital autonomy and agency. This panel shifts the focus from shielding children to empowering them with digital self-determination. Should children hold the authority to govern their own digital footprints? We will explore how to grant young people meaningful control—including the rights to deletion, informed consent, and protection from profiling. Drawing on Korea’s 'Delete the Children' initiative, along with policy developments in Brazil, the UK, and educational insights, our panellists will challenge the assumption that shielding is the only path forward. Instead, we advocate for frameworks that balance children’s rights with parental responsibility, ultimately placing children’s voices at the heart of their digital future.

Questions to be answered

  1. How can the principle of self-determination reshape policies around children online protection?
  2. What tools and rights do children need to exercise control over their online presence?
  3. What does online self-determination imply in contexts such as schools and family?
  4. What key shifts in mindset, practices, and systems are needed to transition from a protective (shielding) approach to an empowering one—one that actively fosters and respects children’s autonomy and decision-making as they grow?

Moderator

Bianca Ioana Marcu

Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) - Brazil

Bianca-Ioana Marcu is the Managing Director for Europe at the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), where she advances thought leadership on data protection, privacy, and AI regulation from a global perspective. Leading a team of legal and policy experts in Brussels, Bianca’s work at FPF focuses on finding pathways for continued cooperation and dialogue on digital regulation, ensuring that strong respect for fundamental rights coexists alongside technology development. Prior to joining FPF, Bianca was the Managing Director of the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) Conference, served as co-Director of the Belgian NGO Privacy Salon, as well as a Researcher in Law at the LSTS Research Group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. With an LLM in International Law, Globalisation and Human Rights from Maastricht University, Bianca’s research and publications have previously focused on Data Protection as the Last Line of Defence (Springer Nature), the legal challenges of Biometrics, Facial Recognition and the Fundamental Rights of Minors (European Law Blog), and on AI regulation from the perspective of international law (FPF).

Speaker

Sunghyun LEE

KISA(Korea Internet & Security Agency) - South Korea

Sunghyun Lee is the Head of the EU Privacy Cooperation Center at the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), based in Belgium. As a leading expert in GDPR and international data transfer frameworks, she bridges privacy policies between Korea and the EU, providing strategic consultancy for global digital compliance. Notably, she played a pivotal role in the EU-Korea Adequacy Decision and continues to lead initiatives on cross-border data flows. With a unique background that spans from cybersecurity policy to hands-on R&D—including biometrics and data standards—Sunghyun possesses a rare blend of deep technical expertise and global regulatory insight, making her a key figure in the international data protection landscape.

Speaker

Marie-Ève Nadeau

5rightsfoundation - International

Marie-Ève Nadeau is Head of International Affairs at the 5Rights Foundation, leading global efforts to embed children’s rights, safety and privacy by design and default in technology governance. Currently based in Brussels, she is a passionate human rights advocate with a decade of policy and advocacy experience advising governments, regulators, and civil society organisations around the world on internet governance, artificial intelligence, data protection and online safety. She has a background in international law and public policy. Before joining 5Rights, she promoted human rights internationally through her work with the EU office of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Québec Without Borders in Peru..

Speaker

Isabella Henriques

Alana Institute - Brazil

Isabella Henriques, CEO of Alana. Lawyer and member of Brazil’s National Council for Data Protection and Privacy at the ANPD (Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority). PhD and author of the book Children’s Fundamental Rights in the Digital Environment (available in Portuguese). Currently conducting postdoctoral research at the University of Cologne, Germany, on children's rights and AI governance.

Speaker

Elise Lassus

EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) - Europe

Elise Lassus works as a project manager in the Justice, Digital and Migration Unit of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Her areas of expertise with respect to the FRA’s work include: privacy and data protection legal frameworks, as well as research and analysis on topics linked to information society and new technologies. Notably, she has worked on projects related to surveillance by intelligence surveillance in the EU, to anti-racism in policing, to preventing unlawful profiling, or the Handbook on European Data Protection Law. She is currently coordinating research on the implementation of the Law Enforcement Directive by competent authorities and its enforcement by national supervisory authorities, and on a Handbook on fundamental rights and cybercrime. Prior to joining FRA, she worked at the European Commission within DG EMPL (on policies related to the fight against discrimination) and DG SANCO (on policies related to consumers’ protection, notably medical devices and cosmetics’ legislation). She studied foreign languages and civilizations, and holds Master’s degrees in Human Rights, in European studies, and in Political Science with a focus on religions and societies.