29 data protection regulators from around the globe took part in an international investigation analysing how both websites and apps aimed at children handle privacy issues. The results were not pleasing.
It could be easy to assume that in the world of unscrupulous marketing and sharing of private data to third parties, even the most shady of firms would consider young children off limits. That is not the case.
In fact 41% of websites were found to “have concerns” regarding how it functioned and treated children’s information. Over two thirds of websites collected at least the name and email address of a child and passed that information on to third parties, without parental consent.
Other concerns included having no clear way to delete information passed onto a website or app, generic privacy policies that did not make it clear what would happen to a child’s information and where and how it would be shared, and websites and apps collecting an excessive amount of personal information.
The investigation comes amid concerns over how easy it is for children to make in-app purchases on the Internet.
It’s another reminder and another reason for parents to be extra vigilant in regard to their children’s activities online.
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For concerned parents, some helpful tips can include –
• Know what specific sites and apps your child visits and uses, and how they work. This way you can do research on how these sites can potentially be abused and have a better understanding of any risks involved.
• For websites and apps you do research, ensure you understand their privacy settings. Especially on social websites like Facebook that encourage sharing.
• For websites or apps that require email addresses, consider using a “burner” email address that both you and your child have access to. “burner” email addresses are throw away emails used for a particular purpose, and can be thrown away and replaced if required. This means a child’s primary email address won’t be at risk of receiving unsolicited emails.
• For younger children with smartphones, consider installing parental controls that limit what children can access and what apps they can use. Most parental control software allows a parent to set up a whitelist of pre-approved websites and apps.
• Encourage open communication between yourself and child, ensuring they come to you with any questions or when they encounter unusual or suspicious activity online.
• Make sure you child understands what information they can and cannot share. For example, children should not share their address online. Younger children should not be sharing their photos online, at least not without parental consent.
• If a website or app has an online chat function, check it out first and make sure that the topics or themes are appropriate.
Have a question? Feel free to get in contact.
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