Children now access the Internet at increasingly young ages and their safety and privacy remains a priority and an area that is often not addressed in standard privacy policies.

 

eTrust requires that certified sites make it clear if they intentionally collect data from children under the age of 13. Those that do must openly disclose the nature of this information and its intended use.

 

When collecting information from children it is more important than ever to justify why certain data fields are being collected.

 

The first question that should be asked is "Why do we collect any information?"

Serious consideration should be given to removing the need for a child to submit personal information. 

• where the website invites children to submit information about themselves, for example a name and email address to enter a competition, it should explain why we need it in language which children can understand.
• it is particularly important that younger children should not get into the habit of easily revealing personal details about themselves or their family on the Internet.
• any information children send should only be used for the purpose for which it was sent.
• it should be retained securely and only for as long as it is needed.
• it should not be revealed to a third party.