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, TurkicWorld '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.
