The coalition was led by Fairplay, a nonprofit children’s advocacy group, and the Center for Digital Democracy, a children’s privacy and digital rights group. Other signatories included the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Network for Public Education.
Outfit7, the developer of My Talking Tom, did not immediately email back asking for comment.
The FTC petition comes as legislators, regulators and health leaders in the United States and abroad are increasingly scrutinizing the online tracking and attention hacking practices of popular online platforms — and seeking to mitigate the potential risks to children. In doing so, these activists challenge the business model of apps and sites whose main revenue comes from digital advertising.
Online services like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube routinely employ data-gathering techniques and compelling design elements — such as content recommendation algorithms, smartphone notifications, or autoplay videos — to drive user engagement. The more time people spend on an app or site, the more ads they’re likely to see.
Now legislators, regulators and children’s groups are taking a new approach to try to curb the use of such practices to target attention hacking on minors. They’re trying to hold online services to the same kind of basic safety standards as the auto industry – essentially requiring apps and sites to install the digital equivalent of seatbelts and airbags for younger users.
For example, last year Britain introduced extensive online safeguards for young people, the so-called Children’s Code. The new rules require social media and video game platforms likely to be used by minors to disable certain features that could be harmful – such as blocking users with notifications at all hours of the night – by default for younger users.
Before the UK rules came into effect, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and other popular services reinforced their protections for younger users around the world.
In September, California also enacted a law requiring sites and apps likely to be used by minors to implement comprehensive safeguards for users under the age of 18. Members of Congress have introduced two bills: the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act – designed to strengthen online protections for young people.
