YouTube is now being accused of collecting the viewing data of its young users age 13 years old and below in the United Kingdom (UK).
With that, the Google-owned video-sharing service allegedly breaches the data privacy code in the UK, which seeks to protect children.
YouTube Allegedly Collects Viewing Data of Children in the UK
As per a report by BBC, Duncan McCann, a campaigner, has filed a complaint against the giant video service at the Information Commissioner's Office or ICO in the UK.
In his official complaint, McCann alleges that the Google-owned platform is collecting the data of its young users, including the viewing activities, which tell which videos they have watched in the service.
He also says that YouTube is gathering information like the location of kids when they watch videos on the video-sharing platform and the device they use to stream it.
So, for instance, if a child used an Apple iPad to watch a viral clip on YouTube, McCann claims that the video platform knows what video they watched, the device they used, and their location during that time.
Here's YouTube's Response
However, BBC notes in its report that YouTube assured that they are treating all kids' content on the platform as if children were watching these videos. Given that, if an adult viewed a clip meant youngsters, the service assumes that a child is watching it.
Furthermore, the YouTube spokesperson notes that they "remain committed to continuing our engagement with the ICO on this priority work, and with other key stakeholders including children, parents, and child-protection experts."
Kids Are Now Watching More TikTok Than YouTube
According to Tech Crunch, young minds have long been storming YouTube to watch their favorite videos on the Google-owned video-sharing service. But this time, it looks like the Chinese-based platform, TikTok, is now more popular among children these days.
An annual review of the app usage of kids and teens globally shows that folks roughly 4 to 18 years of age are spending more time streaming TikTok videos than YouTube. The trend started last June 2020, and the former rapidly paced to the top spot.
TikTok began outpacing YouTube in June 2020. Children have begun watching an average of 82 minutes per day on TikTok, whereas they only spend roughly 75 minutes on YouTube in the same period.
In 2022, the TikTok figures grew significantly larger, wherein the Google-owned video service lagged further behind. On average, kids are now spending around 107 minutes per day on the Chinese-based app. On the flip side, they only watch YouTube for roughly 67 minutes daily.
Despite that, YouTube remains popular among young ages, but TikTok undoubtedly takes much of their time.
In other similar news, YouTube recently started testing a new "1080p Premium" quality option for its paid subscribers.
