Examining the duality of law and ethics in children's access to cyberspace

Document Type : Scholarly Article

Authors

1 Department of Political Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 Department of Communication, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

10.30497/flj.2024.246726.2054

Abstract

The expansion of cyberspace has created serious and fundamental legal and ethical challenges regarding children's access to this phenomenon. Concerns about access to inappropriate content, children's communication with strangers, and risks of sexual and financial abuse, as well as the violation of moral values, have led parents to impose strict restrictions on children's access to cyberspace. However, these restrictions may actually violate children's rights as outlined in international law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and domestic legislation. This article aims to explore how the balance between rights and ethics in children's access to cyberspace can be achieved through an analytical-descriptive approach and the use of documentary data collection. The findings suggest that resolving this legal and ethical dilemma can be achieved through education, particularly in media literacy. By incorporating media literacy education into public school curricula from an early age, parents' concerns can be addressed while also upholding children's rights to access cyberspace. This approach can also serve as a foundation for children's intellectual growth and development.

Keywords

References

  • Abbasi Keilimani, Atefeh; Akbari, Asma (2021). An approach to the right of parents to educate their children in domestic laws and international documents, Jurisprudence and Family Law, 26(74), 229-249.  doi: 10.30497/flj.2018.71216 [In Persian]

    • Abedi, Hamed; Saei, Mohammad Hossein (2023). A comparative study of documents, laws and regulations related to the presence of children in cyberspace in Iran, the European Union and the United States of America, Quarterly Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Media, 5(18), 91-134. [In Persian]
    • Dowthwaite, Liz; Creswick, Helen; Portillo, Virginia; Zhao, Jun; Patel, Menisha; Perez Vallejos, Elvira; Koene, Ansgar; Jirotka, Marina (2020). It's your private information. it's your life.": young people's views of personal data use by online technologies, Interaction Design and Children Conference. https://doi.org/10.1145/3392063.3394410
    • Drenten, J. (2018). When kids are the last to know: embodied tensions in surprising children with family vacations, Young Consumers, Vol. 19 (2), 199-217.
    • European Commission (2021). New EU strategy to protect and empower children in the online world.
    • Frania Monika, Hadzik Wioletta. (2017). Media literacy of a child at an early school age from the perspective of teachers, parents and persons preparing to become educators, Prague: Center of Higher Education Studies.
    • Ghanizadeh Bafghi, Maryam; Hosseinzadeh Sareshki, Asma (2023). A study on the phenomenon of pornography and cyber-deception of children in light of the teachings of Iranian jurisprudence and law, Journal of Jurisprudence and Family Law, 28(78), 197-228. Doi: 10.30497/flj.2022.242989.1793 [In Persian]
    • Hosseini Pakdehi, Alireza; Shabiri, Hassanieh Al-Sadat (2017). Media literacy education in cyberspace (comparison of Media Smarts Canada website and Media Literacy Iran website), New Media Studies Quarterly, 3(9), 31-76. [In Persian]
    • Jusoff, Kamaruzaman; Sahimi, Nurul Nadiah (2009) Television and Media Literacy in Young Children: Issues and Effects in Early Childhood, International Education Studies, Vol. 2(3).
    • Lasswell, H. D. (1948). The structure and function of communication in society, In L. Bryson (Ed.), The communication of ideas, New York: Harper and Row.
    • Law of the Sixth Development Plan, 2017. [In Persian]
    • Livingstone, Sonia (2021). Realizing children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, The British Academy
    • Livingstone, S., Carr, J. and Byrne, J. (2016). One in Three: Internet Governance and Children’s Rights. Innocent Discussion Paper No.2016-01, UNICEF Office of Research, Florence.
    • Malik, Sajjad (2008). Media Literacy and its Importance, Islamabad: Society for Alternative Media and Research
    • Marsh, Jackie (2011). Young Children's Literacy Practices in a Virtual World: Establishing an Online Interaction Order, Reading Research Quarterly, 46(2), 101-118
    • Maloney, Divine; Freeman, Guo; Robb, Andrew (2021). Social Virtual Reality: Ethical Considerations and Future Directions for An Emerging Research Space, Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC), https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2104.05030
    • Misztal, B.A. (2001). Normality and trust in Goffman's theory of interaction order, Sociological Theory, 19(3), 312-324.
    • Moyer, Wenner Melinda (2022). Kids as Young as Are Using Social Media More Than Ever, https:// nytimes.com/2022/03/24/well/family/child-social-media-use.html.
    • Nasiri, Bahareh; Bakhshi, Bahareh; Hashemi, Seyyed Mahmoud (2012). The importance of media literacy education in the 21st century, Journal of Media Studies, 7(18), 149-158. [In Persian]
    • Safarinia, Mahzad (2022). Children's right to access cyberspace from the perspective of domestic and international law (with emphasis on the interpretative theory No. 25 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child), Journal of New Technology Law, 3(5), 196-183. [In Persian]
    • Sahoo Anshuman (2016). Children’s Rights in the Cyberspace, International Journal of Research and Analysis, Vol. 4 (2)
    • Shukla, Manisha; Waghmode, Manisha; Bhosale, Yogini (2024). The Digital Generation: An Analysis of the Seminal Impact of Internet Usage on Children, Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, Vol. 37(2), 197-206.
    • Tornero, J. M. Pérez (2020). Media Literacy and New Humanism, UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education
    • UNICEF (2016). Children’s Rights in a Digital World
    • UNICEF (2019). Digital literacy for children: exploring definitions and frameworks, Office of Global Insight and Policy
    • UZUN, Ruhdan (2018). Protecting Children from Harmful Content in New Media: An Ethical Approaches, IAMCR, Leicester/UK
    • Yanarates, Erkan (2020). Media Literacy: A Conceptual Analysis, Social Scientific Centered Issues, 2(2), 89-102

     

     

Biannual Journal of Family Law And Jurisprudence
Volume 30, Issue 82
April 2025
Pages 65-86

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics