BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 10. Children's personal
data mustn't be turned into commercial interests, Executive
Director of Azerbaijan's Media Development Agency, Ahmad Ismayilov,
said during a public discussion of the draft law on amendments to
the Code of Administrative Offenses and a number of laws, Trend's correspondent
reports from the event.
According to him, using social networks at an early age sharply
increases the risk of minors being exposed to bullying, digital
addiction, psychological trauma, and transnational influences.
The executive director noted that the integration of the strong
family and child policy, as well as the strategy for the protection
of national and moral values, successfully implemented by the
Azerbaijani state for many years, into the digital environment
through legal mechanisms is no longer a subjective desire, but an
objective and inevitable necessity.
"When evaluating this draft law, we must be guided by two main
fundamental criteria - advanced international experience and
digital media development trends.
The proposed draft is fully consistent with the existing legal
regulatory mechanisms in advanced world practice and meets
international standards.
These changes are not just a set of sanctions, but primarily
serve to form a safe, transparent, and efficient ecosystem in the
digital space.
We evaluate this draft law as a mechanism that ensures that
internet providers and digital platforms bear social and legal
responsibility before the state and society in the moral formation
and intellectual development of children," he explained.
Ismayilov emphasized that this is an important approach aimed at
protecting citizens from digital threats, hybrid information
effects and various risks. The issue is of particular importance in
the prism of media ethics, law and journalism professionalism, and
it should be noted that the draft is an important reference from a
conceptual point of view.
"First, the draft strictly prohibits the storage of personal
data collected for the purpose of age verification in the system or
its transfer to third parties for advertising purposes. This is one
of the basic requirements of modern digital ethics and
international privacy law. This norm clearly indicates that
children's personal data cannot be turned into commercial interests
of digital corporations. The legal regulatory mechanism will play
the role of a reliable shield ensuring the preventive protection of
children.
Second, the right to complete and permanent deletion of data
shared on digital platforms during childhood and adolescence is
envisaged, upon the application of a minor or his/her legal
representative. This is an important ethical and legal guarantee
that protects a person's future online reputation. This approach
prevents digital behaviors committed in the past from becoming an
obstacle or threat to the person in the future.
Moreover, after the adoption of the law, conducting extensive
digital awareness campaigns in society, especially in educational
institutions, among parents and teachers, will significantly
increase its effectiveness because even the most perfect law
doesn't give full results without digital literacy and parental
control.
He pointed out that this draft law serves to create a healthier
and safer environment to protect children from the negative effects
of the digital world.
"The proposed changes are fully consistent with universal
ethical norms, national interests, and advanced international legal
standards.
We believe that this step will make a significant contribution
to the health of the national information environment and the
protection of future generations," he concluded.
