Can children's names be displayed?

Can children's names be displayed?

On the first day of term, my children explained to me that the distribution of pupils in the new classes was posted on sheets of paper stuck inside and outside the school. Each one corresponded to an indexed class and indicated the first name and surname of each pupil. In the world we live in, I wondered whether this way of doing things shouldn't be subject to data protection.

A. Vernier

You're right, the situation you describe does involve the processing of personal data, which must comply with specific requirements.

As you know, personal data is protected by the Federal Data Protection Act (LPD) and, at cantonal level, by the Act on Public Information, Access to Documents and the Protection of Personal Data (LIPAD-GE). The LPD applies to private individuals and federal bodies, while the LIPAD-GE applies to cantonal and communal public institutions.

Before any analysis can be carried out, two relevant concepts need to be defined: firstly, 'processing' and secondly, 'personal data'. Processing includes collecting, storing, using, modifying, communicating, archiving or destroying data. Personal data refers to all information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person or legal entity under private law.

In the light of these definitions, a pupil's first name and surname are indeed personal data, as they enable a natural person to be identified. This identification is facilitated by the indication of the pupil's age group, which is easily deduced from the class number referring to a level of education. The display of such data inside and outside a building accessible to the public therefore constitutes communication, i.e. data processing.

However, the possibility for a public institution to communicate information to a third party is limited to two situations provided for in art. 39 al. 9 LIPAD-GE: (a) a law or regulation explicitly provides for it; (b) the interests of third parties in being informed must be weighed against those of the persons concerned in enjoying the confidentiality of such information.

If there is no law or regulation explicitly providing for the communication of personal data to third parties, the weighing up of the interests involved will have to take account of the need to protect children and their parents from mere curiosity or to ensure their safety by not revealing to everyone information that does not concern them. Indeed, with modern means of communication, such information can easily be disseminated in a targeted manner by post or e-mail to the parents and children concerned.

As a result, the widespread display you describe no longer seems necessary for the operation of any childcare facility, even if it was a nice tradition at the time...