The College of Law at the University of Baghdad Discusses a Master’s Thesis on the Civil Protection of Children’s Privacy on Social Media.

The College of Law at the University of Baghdad discussed a Master’s thesis entitled “Civil Protection of Children’s Privacy on Social Media,” submitted by the student Noor Jumaa Farhan from the Department of Private Law, on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at the Moot Court Hall of the College of Law.

The examination committee consisted of the following professors:

1. Prof. Dr. Jaleel Hassan Bshat (Chairperson)
2. Asst. Prof. Dr. Amer Ghanem Alwan (Member)
3. Asst. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Sadiq (Member)
4. Prof. Dr. Lubna Abdul Hussein Issa (Member and Supervisor)

The thesis aimed to examine the extent to which traditional rules of civil liability under Iraqi law, in comparison with modern legislation, can provide effective protection for children’s privacy on social media. It focused on privacy violations arising from complex digital structures, where harmful acts are not necessarily committed by a single individual but may result from the interaction of parental decisions, platform design, terms of use, tracking algorithms, targeted advertising, content redistribution, and the exploitation of children’s personal data, images, or digital identities.

The thesis consisted of three chapters. The first chapter examined the nature of children’s right to privacy on social media. The second chapter addressed the impact of social media on children’s privacy, while the third chapter discussed the mechanisms of civil protection against violations of children’s privacy on social media.

The thesis concluded with several recommendations, the most important of which were:

1. Enacting a special law entitled “Child Privacy Protection Law in the Digital Environment,” incorporating both preventive and remedial measures rather than limiting protection to compensation after harm has occurred.
2. Recognizing the best interests of the child as the primary consideration in every decision concerning the collection of children’s data, the publication of their images, or the exploitation of their content.
3. Strengthening civil liability for the commercial exploitation of children’s images or personal data, including requiring the return of profits obtained through such exploitation.