The office of the Children’s Commissioner has published a new report to highlight the amount of data that is collected shared about children on websites and apps they use.
The report calls for ‘companies producing apps, toys and other products aimed at children to be transparent about how they are capturing information about children and how it is being used, and argues that children should be taught in schools about how their data is collected and for what purposes.’
“A child’s personal information should not be used in a way that leads to them facing disadvantage as an adult, yet that is a possibility we are facing. We urgently need to introduce safeguards to minimise risks like these, while allowing data to be used positively to improve public services and customer experiences.”
Location tracking watches, school databases, classroom apps, biometric data in schools, retail loyalty schemes, travel passes, and medical records such as the Personal Child Health Record and GP records.
In 2018, 2 million CloudPets voice messages shared between children and their family members were found being stored unprotected online.
On average, parents with children aged zero to 13 share 71 photos and 29 videos of their child every year to social media sites.
See more articles and resources to help children stay safe online.
Visit Children’s Commissioner website to learn more
See Who Knows What about Me? Online Infographic
