Privacy Rights of Children and Teens Lesson Plan

Internet & Mobile
Privacy

Level: Grades 9-12

Duration: 1 1/2 — 2 hours

This lesson was created by MediaSmarts for Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial privacy protection authorities.

This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & ENGAGE: A Digital Media Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.

Overview

In this lesson, students are introduced to the privacy principles that inform the Alberta and BC Personal Information Protection Acts, Québec’s An Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector, the United Nations General Comment No.25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environnent and the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) relating to personal information collection online. They learn ways to find out what personal information may or has been collected by platforms that they use, how to limit data collection about themselves, and the various forms of recourse that are available to them if they feel an organization is not respecting their rights.

Learning Outcomes

Know: Students will learn:

  • which federal and provincial laws and offices oversee privacy concerns
  • how to make a privacy complaint

Understand: Students will understand that…

  • children’s rights are protected by international treaties
  • they have legal and consumer rights with regards to personal information

 Do: Students will demonstrate an ability to:

  • evaluate how well the online platforms and services they use live up to those rights
  • create a media product in the context of language arts and/or media literacy and related subject areas

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) are available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.

Lesson Kit