Cyberspace and the Best Interests of the Child: Legal and Ethical Challenges in Protecting Children in Digital Environments

In recent decades, digital space has become an inseparable part of children’s lives, while at the same time creating new threats to their privacy. Although international laws such as COPPA and GDPR attempt to protect children’s data, platforms continue to collect and commercially exploit this data in complex and indirect ways. This study aimed to examine the legal and ethical gaps in the protection of children’s data in cyberspace and to provide solutions to strengthen legal frameworks. The research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method and based on a review of comparative laws, international documents, and analysis of judicial procedures. The results showed that commercial algorithms on many platforms lead children to harmful content and ignore parental consent. Also, existing regulatory gaps prevent the effective implementation of data protection regulations. The findings emphasize the need to redefine the “best interests of the child” in the digital context and design multi-level monitoring systems. Consequently, to ensure the security of children’s data in the digital age, it is necessary to formulate more precise laws, educate parents, and design ethics-based algorithms. These results can be the basis for developing new policies on digital children’s rights and a model for developing countries in dealing with the growing challenges of cyberspace.

کلیدواژه ها:

Digital child rights ، personal data ، informed consent ، best interests of the child ، ethics-based algorithms