Protecting our children online: should more be done?

Irrespective of age, the numbers using social platforms and gaming apps are growing. With more than half of children in the UK now online, this brings a greater awareness for the protection of children online.

Whilst there is protection in place for children online, recent reports have highlighted the apparent misuse of collecting data from child-friendly mobile apps. Researchers have discovered over 3,300 family and child targeted apps were improperly collecting children’s data.

This potentially puts the providers in violation of US legislation, The Children’s Privacy Protection Act, COPPA through collecting and sharing personal information such as email addresses, device IDs or geo-location.

Interestingly, after these findings, it is clear that numerous advertisers and publishers may find it challenging to enforce COPPA and parallel child-focused privacy laws.

It is important that publishers comply with COPPA and upcoming GDPR without a breach, developing trusting relationships between parents and app operators which target children.

At Venatus, our Kids Channel is dedicated to protecting children online and encouraging safe gameplay. We represent some of the largest children’s gaming publishers including EA, Rovio and Kidoz. With over 4.2 million unique visitors, we ensure full transparency, focusing on protecting our younger audiences when working alongside our premium publishers.