Almost half of eight to 11-year-olds have agreed terms and conditions allowing social media companies such as Facebook and Instagram to share their personal information and data, according to the children’s commissioner for England.
The taskforce behind the year-long study, Growing Up Digital, found children often signed away their rights to their photos and private messages not fully understanding the terms and conditions they agreed to.
The terms have been rewritten by privacy law expert Jenny Afia, a partner at Schllings, so children could understand them more easily. Advice included information that Instagram can share personal information “such as your birthday or who you are chatting with, including in private messages” with other companies, and that they “can force you to give up your username for any reason”.
We want to hear from parents and their concerns about their children on social media. Do you worry about the terms and conditions they are agreeing to? Would you prevent your child from using social media knowing the rights they have waived? What does your child think now knowing what the terms and conditions mean? Do they still want to use social media?
You can share your stories and pictures by filling in the form below. We’ll feature a selection in our reporting.
