UK to investigate YouTube collecting child data
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London: Britain's information regulator is looking into a complaint regarding YouTube illegally collecting data from children.
Duncan McCann, a father of three children, filed a complaint saying that Alphabet Inc's video streaming platform broke the new law and collected details like location, viewing habits, and preferences of up to five million children. He is also leading a campaign and is supported by his employer the advocacy group 5Rights.
He told Reuters that YouTube should change the design of its platform and delete the data already collected. He called it a "massive, unlicensed, social experiment" on children and claimed it has "uncertain consequences."
Britain's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it will consider the complaint carefully and asserted that the Children's code makes clear that children are not like adults online, and their data needs meaningful protections. The Code demands that providers meet 1t design and privacy standards to protect children.
A YouTube spokesperson said the company has taken steps to promote the privacy of children and implement protective default settings. The new dedicated kid's app and data practices are aimed at this. "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."
