Privacy Vaults Online (PRIVO), a US-UK industry expert service devoted to children’s online privacy, has launched the GDPRkids Privacy Assured Program, a compliance programme for businesses engaging with children in the EU.
Working closely with businesses and stakeholders, the GDPRkids Privacy Assured Program enables PRIVO’s experts to support compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as it relates to websites, apps, platforms and internet-enabled toys marketed to children. The programme is mapped specifically to the GDPR, ensuring businesses can comply with the regulation while still meeting their business objectives.
The GDPR’s stated age of consent is 16, so for children aged 15 and under consent must be provided by a parent or guardian for online acts such as cookie retention and data sharing; though Member States are allowed to reduce their online age of consent to as low as 13. The GDPRkids Privacy Assured Program guides companies through the intricacies of online consent to ensure they are fully GDPR compliant across the EU.
Other services covered by the GDPRkids Privacy Assured Program include:
- Comprehensive impact assessments;
- Consultations on transparency, data storage protocols and notification procedures in the event of a data breach;
- Discussion of parents’ and children’s rights under GDPR; and
- An in-depth findings report and the awarding of PRIVO’s GDPRkids Privacy Assured Program verified mark.
PRIVO has already awarded the GDPRkids Privacy Assured Program shield, its guarantee of children’s online privacy compliance, to companies such as Beano Studios, RoaldDahl.com and MarcoPolo Learning.
Clare Quinn, PRIVO’s VP Head of Compliance, said: “The regulatory landscape is changing and companies cannot afford to ignore these changes. Noncompliance with the GDPR is a risk with fines of up to 20 million euros or four percent of global turnover. It’s time for publishers and developers to take privacy seriously and that could not be more true when it comes to children’s privacy. More and more children are online and have their own devices, which makes our programs more critical than ever.”
