-
Share
YouTube Accused of Breaching ICO Children’s Code
The complaint is the first to test the Children’s Code since it was established in 2020.
YouTube is accused of being in breach of the Information Commissioner’s Office‘s (ICO) children’s code for collecting viewing data from children aged under 13.
Campaigner with the 5 Rights Foundation, David McCann, lodged the official complaint with the ICO, the first challenge to the code after it was established in 2020.
McCann has said the site is gathering data from children regarding the videos they watch, the location, and device they are watching from.
According to the ICO’s Children’s Code, privacy settings should automatically be set high for underaged users, non-essential location tracking should be switched off, and privacy settings should be easier to control for children and parents/carers.
YouTube has maintained that it treats all children’s content on its site as if children were viewing it, even if it is on an adults account.
However, YouTube has made it clear its website is not intended for those under 13 years of age, and offers a children’s app called YouTube Kids as an alternative.
McCann retorted that children watch YouTube on family devices rather than using a kid only app, and the data will be gathered by default as it is not registered as a child’s account.
In a statement reported by BBC, McCann said: “My preferred reform that YouTube should make is that actually when you enter YouTube, they don’t collect any unnecessary and process any unnecessary information,” he said.
“The best way to ensure that they are only collecting the data of adults who are properly consenting would be to have a process where adults can sign in to the tracking, recommendation systems, profiling, targeted ads.”
Since the ICO’s Children’s Code has come into effect, it has yet to be formally challenged in court. Tech companies were given a year to comply, but their compliance has so far gone untested.
Recommended
- ITSX Summit: Tackling Tech Waste Starts from Within
- CodeClan: Industry Partners Critical to Skills Gap
- BR-DGE Partners with Total Processing for Merchant Growth Ambitions
A recent report showed that nearly one in four games geared toward children available on the Google Play app did not follow the Children’s Code to some degree.
The current complaint brought up by McCann will be a landmark test of the Children’s Code. The ICO will be in power to fine violators and force them up to code.
YouTube was previously in violation of children’s safety policies in 2017 in the US, and paid a hefty fine as they changed their business practices.
