As you might know, in February of this year, TikTok paid an astounding $5.7 million in fines after CARU referred a case against the app to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). TikTok (aka Musical.ly) is a platform that allows users to create and post short videos lip-syncing to music, in addition to social networking aspects. Now, concerns have arisen about how children’s data is collected  in the United Kingdom. Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, told a parliamentary committee, “We’re looking at the messaging system, which is completely open, we’re looking at the kind of videos that are collected and shared by children online. We do have an active investigation into TikTok right now, so watch this space.” Under the EU’s general data protection regulation (GDPR), a company can be fined up to 20 million euros, or 4% of revenue, whichever is higher for violations. In response, TikTok released a statement saying, “We cooperate with organizations su...

According to reports, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Google-owned YouTube has violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Several  complaints  sparked the investigation alleging that YouTube knowingly collected data on and pushed ads to children younger than 13. Additionally, child activists are concerned that disturbing videos can get past children’s filters and that its algorithm creates communities of people looking for videos that sexualize children. Many proposals have been thrown out there. Advocacy groups have suggested moving all kids’ content from the main site to a stand-alone children’s platform. However, an anonymous source says the FTC may be considering suggesting that individual channels instead disable advertising . However, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy wrote in a letter that it wasn’t clear whether disabling the presentation of ads woul...

YouTube attracts many kids to its platform, but who is behind the videos they watch? A recent   article   in the   Wall Street Journal   by Yoree Koh and Betsy Morris tackles this question. The top ten children’s channels on YouTube are CoCoMelon, Vlad and Nikita, Like Nastya Vlog, Toys and Colors, Kids Diana Show, Ryan Toys Review, El Reino Infantil, Toys and Little Gaby, Family Games TV, and TocToc Toys. The   Journal   tried to contact all of these channels, but only one was reachable and communicative.   Seven didn’t respond to communications or were unable to be found; two declined to be interviewed. According to the Executive Director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Josh Golin, being unable to identify creators of children’s YouTube programming “‘adds to the lack of accountability.’”  YouTube has already been under fire recently for its lack of controls. Notably, some children’s videos  reportedly  showed...

1998: A Concern for Children’s Privacy Was Born From the moment home computers had the capacity to connect to the Internet, children had the ability to use these technologies to access online websites and services. In the 1990s, concerns about children’s privacy and safety online arose amid fears of marketing practices around selling children’s personal information and exposing children’s information to predators. The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), founded in 1974, has always been on the forefront of safeguarding children’s privacy. CARU is the self-regulatory arm of the children’s advertising industry, tasked with promoting truth in children’s advertising by reviewing and evaluating child-directed ads in all media to ensure they are truthful, accurate and appropriate. CARU also monitors online privacy practices as they affect children. Before there was any legislation on the matter, CARU monitored a burgeoning Internet and observed how children’s privacy and sa...