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The United State’s data protection regulator has called on social media and video-sharing platforms to enhance their efforts in safeguarding children’s privacy on the internet.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has outlined its objectives for safeguarding children’s personal information online for the next year, focusing on location data, targeted advertising, recommendation algorithms, and the handling of data belonging to individuals under the age of 13.
Information Commissioner John Edwards acknowledged that there has been progress since the implementation of the children’s code of practice in 2021.
However, he said that certain aspects, including those highlighted as priorities for next year, still require further attention and improvement.
“Children’s privacy must not be traded in the chase for profit. How companies design their online services and use children’s personal information have a significant impact on what young people see and experience in the digital world,” Mr Edwards said.
He added, “Seven out of 10 children told us that they trust our children’s code to make the internet better and safer for them. That’s why our determination to ensure online services are privacy-friendly for children is stronger than ever.
“I’m calling on social media and video-sharing platforms to assess and understand the potential data harms to children on their platforms and to take steps to mitigate them.”
In its children’s code strategy for next year, the ICO disclosed that it would focus on ensuring that online services automatically set children’s profiles to private by default, with geolocation settings deactivated as the default option.
Also, the regulator intends to advocate for targeted advertising to be disabled by default on these platforms.
The ICO will work closely with platforms to assess the use of recommendation algorithms for younger users.
Lastly, the ICO would examine how services used age assurance technologies and obtain parental consent regarding the use of information concerning children under the age of 13.