MediaSmarts

Purpose

Achievement Unlocked? Young Canadians’ Privacy and Consent in Online Gaming is a mixed methods research project that will examine how youth aged 9–18 and their parents/caregivers understand, experience, and navigate privacy and consent within online gaming environments. Led by MediaSmarts, the project will include interactive focus groups with youth ages 9-18, as well as a national survey of parents/caregivers of children aged 9–18. This project will explore how interactive gaming design challenges traditional privacy frameworks, assess the clarity and accessibility of privacy policies and terms of service, evaluate the effectiveness of parental controls and safeguards, and examine whether young people understand and feel empowered to exercise their privacy rights while gaming. This project will generate new, nationally relevant evidence on children’s privacy in interactive gaming environments while producing concrete, accessible educational resources to help Canadian families, educators and young people better understand, exercise, and protect privacy online.