Kids risk "e-discrimination" warns think tank

"E-discrimination" is just one of the risks that could result from the massive increase in government databases holding information on children, according to a new report.

Technology think tank the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR) conducted the study for the Information Commissioner, assessing the data protection and privacy implications of the growth in children's databases.

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Never before has so much personal information been collected about kids - from personal medical information to school results, social workers' case notes and information from police and youth-justice systems.

One area of concern FIPR highlighted is "e-discrimination", where the system that attempts to predict which children will become delinquent, by totting up negative indicators from health, school and other records, can actually create the same problems.

The report warned: "A perfectly law-abiding youngster from a difficult home background, who has perhaps struggled to overcome learning and health difficulties, may find at every turn that teachers expect less, and that police attention is more likely."

Another risk is the "rather cavalier interpretation" of data protection and privacy law by a number of the agencies involved in building the network of children's databases, where young people may be asked to consent to data sharing without the involvement of their parents.

FIPR is also concerned about harm that data sharing can do. "Increasing the amount of poor-quality data available will lead to more errors, and out-of-context information can easily cause risk-averse staff to panic, with serious consequences," the report warned.

Assistant information commissioner, Jonathan Bamford, said just because technology means things can be done with personal information, it does not always follow they should be done.

Public trust and confidence will be lost if there is "excessive unwarranted intrusion into family life" or if some of the issues that have been identified in the report actually materialise, he said.