The Fight to Regulate Dangerous Design Is Heating Up
A new regulatory proposal in the U.K. lays out how online services should be designed to protect kids. Everyone should get the same kinds of protections.
By Katharine Schwab
Yesterday, the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which oversees data and privacy, announced a radical proposal to regulate children’s privacy online. The proposal includes 16 points aimed at safeguarding kids’ data, and it’s designed to limit children’s ability to engage in addictive behavior on social media. That could go so far as to ban “likes” on platforms like Facebook and Instagram and “streaks” on Snapchat for young users.
These interface features are designed to both convince users to keep using the platform and to enable the company to extract data about their activity, providing a window for advertisers into who users are. The ICO calls these “nudge techniques” and “reward loops,” and decries their ability to psychologically manipulate children, convince them to give up data, and compromise their privacy.
If adopted, the proposal would force apps, connected toys, social media websites, search engines, and other online services that are based in the U.K. or have British users to comply…
