UK proposes new code of practice to protect children online
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has released a 16-point list on age appropriate design and recommendations of a code of practice for Internet companies to improve child safety online. This includes limiting the collection, use, and sharing children’s personal data by social media companies, ensuring ‘high privacy’ as the default setting for children, as well as disabling geolocation tools and targeted advertising, and introducing robust age verification checks on platforms. Failure to adhere to the code may lead to fines of up to 4% of the companies global turnover.
The code of practice is expected to be finalised by the end of May 2019 and expected to be enforced by 2020.
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