Snapchat Under Scanner Of UK Watchdog Over Handling Of Underage Users

Snapchat is under the scanner of Britain's data regulator which is collecting information on whether the app is doing enough to eliminate underage users from its platform.

Social media companies are struggling to keep underage children away from their platforms.

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Snapchat is under the scanner of Britain's data regulator which is collecting information on whether the app is doing enough to eliminate underage users from its platform, news agency Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. As per UK data protection laws, social media firms must get parental consent before processing the data of users who are under 13. Most social networking platforms have mandated that users signing up should be 13 or older, but they are struggling to keep underage children away from their platforms.

"We share the goals of the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) to ensure digital platforms are age appropriate and support the duties set out in the Children's Code," a Snap spokesperson was quoted as saying.

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The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has got several complaints from the public about the company's treatment of children's data, according to a source familiar with the matter. Some of the complaints were related to Snapchat's failure to adequately keep young children off its platform.

Snapchat declined to give details of any measures it might have taken to reduce the number of underage users, the Reuters report added. The ICO typically gathers information related to an alleged breach before launching an official probe. It may issue an information notice, a formal request for internal data that may aid the investigation, before deciding whether to fine the individual or organisation being investigated.

To recall, last year, Snap, the parent company of photo-sharing platform Snapchat, reached a $35 million settlement with the state of Illinois in the US in a class-action lawsuit over illegal user data collection. The lawsuit alleged that Snapchat's filters and lenses violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The state law requires companies to tell people in writing why their biometric data is being collected and how long it will be kept. A company spokesperson, however, said that Snapchat lenses "do not collect biometric data that can be used to identify a specific person, or engage in facial identification."