This year’s Privacy Laws & Business conference, What’s Right for Children and Their Data?, was a huge success—and much of that is thanks to the incredible efforts of Ellie Colegate and Hannah Heilbuth, two of our Horizon CDT PhD students.
For the past six months, Ellie and Hannah worked tirelessly behind the scenes to shape an event that brought together industry leaders, regulators, NGOs, academics and legal professionals to tackle one of today’s most important challenges: protecting children’s data rights in an increasingly digital world.
Hannah Heilbuth: Making Data Rights Understandable for Children
Hannah moderated a fascinating panel exploring how organisations can help children better understand and exercise their data rights. Experts Shanna Pearce (Epic Games), Erin Stephens (BBC), John Kavanagh (TikTok) and Laurie-Anne Ancenys (A&O Shearman) shared their approaches to designing child-friendly privacy features—ones that not only keep young users safe but also empower them to make informed choices about their online experiences.
One key takeaway? Strong default privacy settings are crucial, but companies also need to go beyond that—communicating privacy options in a way that’s accessible and meaningful for children. Laurie-Anne Ancenys stressed how companies must proactively assess risks through Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and stay ahead of evolving digital laws.
Ellie Colegate: The Future of Age Assurance Systems
Ellie led an insightful panel discussion on Age Assurance Systems, diving into the challenges of balancing online safety with children’s rights as digital citizens. The session covered:
📌 User inclusion in design – Andy Lulham (Verifymy) emphasized the need for companies to involve users (including children and parents) when designing age verification methods.
📌 Diverse assurance methods – Julie Dawson (Yoti) pointed out that there’s no single, universal solution for age verification—different sectors require different approaches.
📌 International policy comparisons – Ross Phillipson (A&O Shearman) compared the UK and Australia’s approaches to regulating children’s online access, highlighting the complexities of global policy alignment.
📌 Age assurance isn’t a silver bullet – Colette Collins-Walsh (5Rights Foundation) reminded us that while age verification is important, it’s just one part of the solution to creating safer online spaces.
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left to right – Maisie Robinson, Oliver Butler, Ellie Colegate, Hannah Heilbuth
From thought-provoking discussions to actionable insights, Ellie and Hannah played a pivotal role in making this event not just informative, but impactful. Their ability to bring together such a diverse group of experts and facilitate real conversations about the future of children’s data rights speaks volumes about their leadership in this space.
The ideas shared at this conference will shape industry practices and influence future policy decisions, and we’re excited to see how Ellie and Hannah continue to drive these conversations forward.
Congratulations, Ellie and Hannah, on this incredible achievement! 🎉👏
