07 Nov YouTube Launches Profile for Kids, Raises Privacy Concerns
Parents can now create profiles for their underage kids on YouTube which can be personalized based on the child’s age or interests. However, privacy experts have voiced their concerns on the new feature, saying that it may be a ploy by Google to target kids for advertising.
Executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Josh Golin explained that according to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), data of children under 13 should not be collected without parental consent. However, parents have to explicitly give their consent in order to create an account for their kids, making it legal for Google to target the kids with ads.
A Google spokesperson countered and clarified that only the name and birthday of the child is collected and nothing more.
Source: Market Watch
