YouTube gathering child data!

UK To Look Into Youtube Gathering Child Data After Official Complaint

According to reports Duncan mcann, Head of accountability at the right 5rights foundation has claimed in a statement that the Global video sharing and social media platform YouTube has been collecting location as part of its video preferences.It is said campaigner Duncan McCann has filed an official complaint with the ICO, alleging that YouTube is collecting data on children's activities on the platform. McCann asserts that YouTube is gathering information on the videos watched by children, the devices used, and their location. He notes that many children watch YouTube content on family devices, meaning that data can be collected by default and not registered as a children's account.Introduced in 2020, the ICO children's code mandates that tech companies prioritize the default protection of children's privacy and avoid design features that encourage them to provide additional data. The recent complaint against YouTube is believed to be the first test of this code.

UK's information regulator said on Wednesday it would look into an official complaint against YouTube of illegally collecting data from millions of children.Countries have been battling to strike a balance with legislation that protects social media users, particularly children, from harmful content without damaging free speech.McCann said in a statement that Video Streaming platform should change the design and delete data it had been gathering."It is a massive, unlicensed, social experiment on our children with uncertain consequences," McCann said.
A spokesperson from the Video Streaming platform said it had taken steps to bolster child privacy with more protective settings and made investments to protect children and families by launching a dedicated kids app and introducing new data practices."We remain committed to continuing our engagement with the ICO on this priority work, and with other key stakeholders including children, parents and child protection experts," the YouTube spokesperson said in a statement.

UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it would consider the complaint carefully.
"The Children's code makes clear that children are not like adults online, and their data needs meaningful protections," the ICO's Deputy Commissioner, Regulatory Supervision, Stephen Bonner said in a statement.
UK's Children's code requires providers to meet 15 design and privacy standards to protect children, including limiting collection of their location and other personal data.

The Video Streaming platform was fined $170 million by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to settle allegations that it broke federal law by collecting personal information about children in 2019.