TikTok, Reddit and Imgur investigated for UK Age Appropriate Design Code breach
Today, the UK’s data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has launched investigations into TikTok, Reddit and Imgur for potential breaches of children’s privacy under the Age Appropriate Design Code. They will investigate how TikTok’s recommender systems process children’s data, and how Reddit and Imgur use age assurance to identify the ages of their users.
5Rights welcomes this action as a crucial step to ensure children’s data is protected online. Last year, 5Rights raised concerns about the repeated infractions of children’s data protection and called on the regulator to pursue robust enforcement action and greater transparency in its activities. This investigation is a step in that direction. We welcome that the ICO has now named the companies they are investigating and has provided a summary of actions taken under the Code.
Colette Collins-Walsh, Head of UK Affairs said:
“We welcome the ICO’s decision to shine a light on the suspected failures by tech companies to safeguard children’s data, following 5Rights’ calls for greater transparency in the regime. Time and again, we have seen platforms leaving young users exposed to data-hungry systems with little accountability. But protecting children’s data isn’t optional; it’s a necessity.”
The Age Appropriate Design Code is already driving an industry-wide shift to prioritise better experiences for children’s lives in the digital world. Research from Digital Futures for Children Centre on the impact of digital regulation on children’s lives has highlighted this positive impact, demonstrating how regulation can improve children’s lives online.
Today’s announcement is a positive step forward, but it is not enough. With data-intensive AI technologies and other high-risk processing becoming the norm in children’s everyday lives, the ICO must strengthen its defence of the Code,enforce age-appropriate design and further investigate these new and evolving technologies to ensure children are protected everywhere they are online.