A survey conducted by 27 data protection authorities, including those in France, Italy, the UK and Australia, and published on Wednesday 25 March, examined the websites and apps used by children and minors online in order to analyse the level of personal data collection carried out by these platforms.
The results are indisputable. At a time when many countries are questioning access to social networks for minors (see EUROPE 13819/20), including at EU level (see EUROPE 13820/11), the study, which looked at almost 900 websites and apps covering the areas of social media, education, video games and e-commerce, shows that platforms are collecting more and more personal data and that the online age verification techniques used are hardly, if at all, reliable.
The survey, organised by the ‘Global Privacy Enforcement Network’, also found an increase in the volume of information collected online compared to a previous survey carried out in 2015. For example, 40% of websites asked for users’ names in 2025, compared with just 29% in 2015.
Although the results suggest that reporting best practice for younger children is becoming more widespread, such as notifications advising children not to use their real names or publish photos, the study also shows that some of the risks to which children are exposed have increased over the last ten years.
See the study: https://aeur.eu/f/lel (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)