ICO: ‘Children’s privacy protection on social media must improve’

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is warning multiple social media and video sharing platforms for its poor children’s privacy practices.

The British data protection authority (DPA) reviewed 34 unspecified social media and video sharing platforms. One of the things researchers looked at is how minors and young people were able to create an account, what checks the platforms had in place to verify the age of youngsters, and what advertising settings were available.

At eleven out of the 34 platforms the ICO found irregularities concerning default privacy settings, age assurance or geolocation. The DPA contacted the websites and explained to them how to improve their children’s privacy practices. If the platforms don’t comply, they will face enforcement action.

“Online services and platforms have a duty of care to children. Poorly designed products and services can leave children at risk of serious harm from abuse, bullying and even loss of control of their personal information,” Emily Keaney, Deputy Commission at the ICO, says in a statement.

In addition, the ICO wants to delve deeper into how the personal information of minors is being used by recommendation algorithms. Furthermore, the privacy watchdog is eager to learn about recent developments in the use of age assurance to identify children under the age of 13.

The regulator calls on experts, researchers, academics and other interested stakeholders to provide additional information and advice.

The extensive review of children’s privacy practices on social media and video sharing platforms is part of the ICO’s Children’s Code Strategy, a code of practice that is developed to safeguard children’s personal information on the internet.

It helps organizations and online platforms to look after children’s privacy and to enable them to develop services and products that comply with data protection laws in the United Kingdom.

“Our world-leading Children’s Code has helped stop targeted advertising at children on some of the biggest social media platforms. The Code has even encouraged other areas, including tech-famous California, to create their own codes. We’re now building on the Code’s achievements to gather more evidence and push for further changes,” Keaney states.