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| Children's data spurs Instagram investigations |
Ireland's Data Protection Committee (DPC) has launched two investigations against Facebook after raising concerns about the social media giant's handling of children's personal information on its Instagram platform.
Facebook could face heavy fines for discovering breaches of Instagram's data protection laws after the European Union's chief data protection commissioner opened an investigation to reveal contact details of millions of children.
Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle (Graham Doyle) told Reuters in an email that the Irish Data Protection Commission had received complaints from individuals and had identified potential problems with handling children's personal information on Instagram.
"These two investigations began last month," Doyle said in a statement. The Telegraph, which first reported the investigation, said the Instagram platform had revealed email addresses and phone numbers of users under the age of 18.
The Telegraph added that the Irish Data Protection Committee has opened an investigation after receiving a complaint from American data scientist David Steele.
The first investigation was to determine whether Facebook had a legal basis for data processing and whether it had appropriate safeguards or restrictions in place for Instagram.
"This survey also takes into account Facebook's compliance with its obligations as a data watchdog regarding transparency requirements for handing Instagram to children," Doyle said.
The Instagram profile and account settings are the focus of the second investigation to verify that the social media company adheres to the data protection requirements of the regulator.
Ireland is the European headquarters of many American technology companies. This makes the Irish Data Protection Commission the main regulatory authority in the European Union under the single window system for general data protection regulations in the European Union. Data protection.
The new rules give regulators the power to impose fines for violating 4% of the company's total revenue or 20 million euros ($ 22 million), whichever is greater.
The BBC said: Data expert David Steer concluded in 2019 that users under the age of 18 could easily switch to business accounts after analyzing 200,000 accounts worldwide.
This type of account requires users to disclose their data, which means that everyone can see it through social networks.