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Tuesday, April 10, 2018

YouTube, accused of illegally collecting personal data of minors

Por Nina

In the United States, a coalition of at least 20 groups of child advocates wants to investigate the actions of the YouTube video website, which they accuse of improper advertising practices and illegal collection of personal data of children under 13, reports USA Today. The jurists of these collectives filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission of the United States in which they claimed that the company Google - owner of YouTube - violates the laws of child protection online by saving their location, phone number or device that they use, among other data.

Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa), businesses must notify and obtain the consent of the parents or guardians of those youths before gathering information about them. Therefore, the plaintiffs expect that Google will receive sanctions for billions of dollars.Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Free Childhood of Advertising (CCFC), affirms that "Google has for years renounced its responsibility to children and families" by stating that the portal is only for people over 13 years of age when, In fact, it is "full of popular cartoons, nursery rhymes and toy advertisements".

The plaintiff claims that, although YouTube's terms of service warned that it is not a site for minors, anyone can see their audiovisual material without having an account. In the case of being necessary, minors can access through sessions that other adults opened or lie about their age at the time of creating a profile.In 2015, that firm launched the YouTube Kids application with appropriate ads for children. More recently, he hired thousands of moderators to review their content, after several criticisms about the fact that he offered violent and offensive material. According to data of the plaintiffs, YouTube is the most popular online platform among US minors, since it is used by approximately 80% of children between six and 12 years old.

However, Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy says that Google has acted in a "deceptive manner" and has "deliberately attracted young people to a digital playground full of publicity" because, "like Facebook", has focused "its enormous resources on generating profits instead of protecting privacy". For its part, a YouTube spokesperson told Newsweek that they have not received this complaint, underlining that "protecting children and families has always been a priority", has promised that his company will evaluate the situation and has reiterated that, Since the portal is not for children, YouTube Kids offers "a specifically designed alternative" for minors.