LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s information regulator said on Wednesday it would investigate a complaint accusing Alphabet Inc’s YouTube of illegally collecting data from millions of children.
The complaint filed by Duncan McCann, who is leading the campaign backed by advocacy group 5 VIRNA, said the video platform broke newly implemented law gathering “the location, viewing habits and preferences” of up to 5 million children. .
McCann, a father of three, said in a statement that YouTube must change the design of its platform and delete data it was gathering.
“It’s a huge, unlicensed social experiment with our children, with uncertain consequences,” McCann said.
A YouTube spokesperson said the company has taken steps to bolster children’s privacy with more default protection settings and has made investments to protect children and families by launching a dedicated children’s app and introducing new data practices.
“We remain committed to continuing our engagement with the ICO in this priority work and with other key stakeholders, including children, parents and child protection experts,” a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said it will carefully consider the complaint.
The UK Children’s Code requires providers to meet 15 design and privacy standards to protect children, including limiting the collection of their location and other personal data.
In 2019, YouTube was fined $170 million by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to settle allegations that it broke federal law by collecting personal information about children.
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman)
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