Online video sharing platform, YouTube has been accused of collecting the viewing data of children aged under 13, in breach of a UK data privacy code designed to protect children.
Campaigner Duncan McCann has lodged an official complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), claiming the site is gathering data about the videos children watch, where they are watching and what device they are watching it on.
His complaint is believed to be the first test of the ICO children’s code, which was introduced in 2020, when tech firms were given one year to comply with it.
While the ICO said it would consider the complaint carefully, YouTube however argued that it had invested in protecting families, and its service was not intended for use by children below the age of 13, and it offers a separate children’s app called YouTube Kids as well as a “supervised experience” which requires parental consent.
