Tech's Online Exploitative Relationship With Children Is A Health Risk

A report submitted to the UK Parliament outlines the damaging effects on children of ‘persuasive design’ on the internet

THE DISRUPTED CHILDHOOD REPORT co-authored by the 5Rights Foundation, the British charity advocating for children’s rights online, and [reputation and privacy consultancy] Schillings, sets out how “persuasive design” practices employed on the internet deliberately keep children online to collect their data for commercial gain. [For some examples of persuasive design, see box.]

The report sets out how these strategies exploit human instincts, how they are deployed, why the habit-forming and what emotional, physical and educational development impacts they are having on a generation of children.

Baroness Beeban Kidron, founder and Chair of 5Rights Foundation, and report co-author says: “The tech industry needs to look at their stratospheric share prices, then our children, and decide which is more important. Children need a new deal.”

The 24 recommendations contained in the report call on the tech sector to make seismic changes to the design of products and services in order to meet the needs of children. They also call on government to add “compulsive use” to its current list of harms in all policies and to set up a centre of expertise for policy and research, in instances where it intersects with childhood.