The Ross Trust has partnered with the Alannah & Madeline Foundation on a new initiative that aims to expose the extent of use and misuse of children’s personal information. 

The ‘Upholding Children’s Right to Privacy Online’ project seeks to show, through Australian-centric research, exactly how children’s data is collected, harvested and commercialised. The findings will be used to push government and regulators to fully uphold the privacy and rights of children online. 

The Alannah & Madeline Foundation has a strong background in keeping children and young people free from violence and trauma. The Foundation was established in 1997 by Walter Mikac, the father of Alannah and Madeline Mikac, aged six and three, who were tragically killed alongside their mother and 32 others at Port Arthur in Tasmania. 

The Foundation has been delivering online safety education programs in Australian schools for more than 15 years and has strong links with key government and regulatory bodies including the eSafety Commission and child-rights advocates such as UNICEF and the Australian Child Rights Taskforce.

The Foundation’s Advocacy Manager, Dr Jessie Mitchell, says that Australia is behind many other developed nations in safeguarding children’s digital rights.

“The digital environment can be viewed as being like an iceberg. The visible problems are above the surface and are what attracts media attention - cyber bullying, sexting, scams, pornography, and ‘fake news’,” she says. “However, the much larger part of the iceberg lies beneath the surface: personal information and how digital platforms access and use it.

“Many digital platforms make their profits by collecting highly specific and intimate information about people and sharing it with advertisers.

“Big tech companies shamelessly monetise children’s data and manipulate their behaviour for profit. When challenged, these tech giants fight attempts to regulate their business model, continuing to put the safety and wellbeing of children and young people at risk.”

The initiative will include a partnership with a research provider with expertise in data rights and children’s experiences in the digital world. The Foundation will also assemble a team of advocacy allies to support and, where relevant, advise the project. 

The Ross Trust is providing $300,000 to the Foundation over three years to back the project, the findings of which will be shared with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), to support the 2025 consultation on the creation of a Children’s Online Privacy Code.

“Until now, there has been little research in this area, which makes it very difficult to advocate for young people,” says The Ross Trust CEO Sarah Hardy. “This project will help guide the policy and legislative framework to address these problems and the vast power imbalance between big tech and children.

“There will finally be Australian ‘issues and harms’ research to support advocacy. It will ensure young people’s voices are heard in shaping stronger protections online.”

 Read more about the work of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation.