Children and privacy online
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ywords: children, privacy, data protection, online, parents, control
Papers Children and privacy online Agnes Nairn and Dowsiri Monkgol Received: 15 January 2007
Abstract Kids are spending more money on goods and services and more time online than ever before. This makes them an incredibly tempting target for online marketing. But what are the data protection issues where children are concerned? This paper considers child data protection using the concepts of knowledge, control and parental involvement; it reminds us of the DMA code of practice for online marketing to children and presents review of how 20 of the top children’s websites match up to the code. While most of the children’s websites do post a data protection policy, it is not easy for children to find or understand; few policies are displayed at the point of information collection; children have little control over what happens to any information they do disclose and the common practice of involving parents is woefully inadequate. It is hoped that this paper will highlight some of the issues involved in protecting children’s online privacy and encourage debate on how the industry should proceed in this tricky area. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice (2007) 8, 294–308. doi:10.1057/palgrave.dddmp.4350063
Background
Agnes Nairn U.P.R. Marchés et Innovation EM Lyon Business School 23 Avenue Guy de Collongue 69132 ECULLY France Tel: + 44 7796 585449 E-mail: [email protected]
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Children’s purchasing power has tripled since the 1990s. The children’s market in the UK alone is now estimated at £3bn for purchases made with children’s own money and £30bn when child-influenced purchases are included.1 Globally, children have been estimated to spend an annual $300bn2 of their own money and influence a further $1.88bn of family spending.3 And as family styles democratise, children’s say in household purchase decisions seems set to increase.4 Children are particularly influential in the purchase of technology products where they often have more sophisticated technical knowledge than their parents,5 being less risk averse when faced with novelty.6 Children, thus, now constitute a large, attractive and profitable direct and indirect market for global corporations. It seems that the most effective way to tap into this market is by the internet. Online advertising in the UK is growing at about 40 per cent a year and, according to media buying agencies, represented 14 per cent of overall UK ad spending last year.7 That is the highest level in the world, and more than double the percentage in the United States. Almost all homes in the UK now have a computer as well as a
© 20 0 7 PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD 1746- 0166 $3 0.00 VO L .8 NO.4 PP 294– 308. www.palgrave-journals.com/dddmp
Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice
Children and privacy online
Children’s internet usage is growing rapidly
television with 70 per cent of children now having home internet access. While the hours in front of the television screen are decreasing very sl
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