Canada: Office of the Privacy Commissioner opened consultation on Children's Privacy Code including design requirements

On 12 May 2025, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) launched an exploratory consultation, open until 5 August 2025, to support the development of a Children’s Privacy Code under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). The consultation includes proposed obligations for the design of digital systems accessed by individuals under 18. These design obligations address interface features, behavioural defaults, and system-level controls. The proposed code would require organisations to implement privacy-protective default settings, restrict the use of tracking technologies, and prohibit the use of deceptive or manipulative design patterns that may influence children's privacy-related decisions. Organisations would also be expected to incorporate the best interests of the child into product and service development through privacy impact assessments and child-informed design processes. The consultation seeks feedback on how such obligations should be operationalised across age groups and digital environments.