Claiming to be the “first of its kind” in Europe for bringing suit against a tech firm on behalf of children, this alleges YouTube’s methods of targeting children constitutes “major breaches” of UK and EU privacy and data rules. Specifically, YouTube is accused of harvesting kids’ data without parental consent.
The suit has been filed on behalf of more than 5 million British children and their parents.
“Pay close attention to data collection, transmission and storage practices of app partners.”
The UK has a new code of practice to protect children’s data, including for apps, toys, educational material and those that use children’s data [See our article]. Intent is to have high levels of privacy built in by default. Firms have 12 months to comply or risk huge fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that could potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, does not sell its holdings within a year. The bill now goes to the President Biden, who has said he will sign it. Court challenges are likely to follow.