The country’s Commissioner’s Office for data revealed how it’s now getting into the depths of how the app utilizes kids’ information to roll out recommendations that might give rise to dangerous and explicit material that’s easily visible on feeds.
Meanwhile, separate investigations were rolled out for both Reddit and Imgur, which investigate how they’re using the personal data linked to UK kids to determine the exact age. Such investigations are an integral part of the efforts to determine how companies protect kids. Moreover, it’s a stage that they investigate to see if any data protection laws were violated.
The office claims that if any such evidence was found that these organizations broke the law, then they will be penalized. So the scrutiny is only to see if they are abiding by the data protection rules. The UK says that it has a strong responsibility to keep all kids safe online. And this can only happen if such social media apps are offering the right services and sticking to the regulations that hold them accountable.
The news comes after a study was shared by the ICO which found that more than 42% of all parents in the country felt helpless about limited control over sharing videos online. This includes the amount of data that social media apps collect about kids.
Media outlets asked the respective apps for comments on the subject but failed to hear back. Meanwhile, the privacy watchdog did penalize social media giant TikTok with a fine of $15.9M in April 2023. It says the company violated laws including those related to collecting data of kids below 13 without consent from parents. Then in 2020, the app enabled nearly 1.4M young kids in the UK to utilize the app despite rules stopping them from generating accounts.
Currently, the ICO is examining data violations linked to data protection rules to make sure the firms roll out digital services that keep kids’ privacy safeguarded at all times. If that’s revealed through evidence of breaches made by the companies, then the ICO will sit with them before making the final verdict.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: YouTube Tightens Content Rules to Curb Harmful Trends Among Teen Users
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World
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