{"id":113920,"date":"2026-03-07T00:15:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/897737035"},"modified":"2026-03-07T00:15:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:15:33","slug":"how-big-tech-could-get-its-hands-on-details-of-children-as-young-as-10-who-respond-to-labours-social-media-ban-consultation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/how-big-tech-could-get-its-hands-on-details-of-children-as-young-as-10-who-respond-to-labours-social-media-ban-consultation\/","title":{"rendered":"How Big Tech could get its hands on details of children as young as 10 who respond to Labour’s social media ban consultation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published:<\/span>

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Campaigners have raised fears that parents and children who take part in Labour<\/a>\u2019s consultation on banning social media could have their information shared with big tech companies.<\/p>\n

The small print on the Government\u2019s consultation states that participants may have their \u2018personal data\u2019 shared with Google<\/a> and Meta<\/a> – the very companies that campaigners want to see regulated.<\/p>\n

Parents have raised concerns about this and called on Labour to make changes to the terms of \u2018Growing up in the online world: a national consultation\u2019 to \u2018ensure this does not happen\u2019.<\/p>\n

However the Government insisted that this is a standard privacy policy that can only collect \u2018basic technical data such as an IP address\u2019 – not personal answers to the consultation.<\/p>\n

It comes as MPs are next week set to debate a social media ban for under-16s after the House of Lords backed an amendment to the Children\u2019s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would see this become law.<\/p>\n

However Labour has instead suggested a wide-ranging, flexible power that would allow it to introduce measures such as curfews or time limits. The Government this week launched a consultation to decide what action it should take.<\/p>\n

The consultation requires parents and carers of young people aged 21 and under, and children and young people aged 10 to 21 to accept the privacy policy of Savanta, the Government\u2019s survey platform contractor.<\/p>\n

The privacy policy states: \u2018We may share your data with the below suppliers to help us improve our services and targeting: Google, LinkedIn [and] Meta.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Lord Nash, the Conservative Peer behind the Lords bid for a social media ban for u16s, described the revelation as \u2018deeply concerning\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018It has long been clear that this consultation is a gift to big tech, providing cover for delay while the companies mobilise opposition to any meaningful action,\u2019 the former schools minister told the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Government now urgently needs to make clear that every parent and child who takes part in this consultation will not have their personal data shared with the very companies they want regulated.<\/p>\n

\u2018I urge every member of the public who is rightly alarmed by this to tell their MP at raisetheage.org.uk<\/a> to reject the Government\u2019s compromised consultation on Monday and vote for my amendment, which would raise the age limit for harmful social media platforms to 16 now.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Harry Amies – founder of online child protection parents group Unplug.Scot, which discovered the small print – called on the Government to suspend the consultation \u2018until this mess is sorted out\u2019.<\/p>\n

He said: \u2018The discovery that not only parents\u2019 but children’s personal data may be shared with Meta and Google, without their explicit consent or knowledge, is extremely concerning. The Government needs to urgently change the terms of this consultation to ensure this does not happen.\u2019<\/p>\n

It comes as 23 bereaved parents urged MPs to support an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, saying mothers and fathers \u2018cannot regulate billion-dollar technology companies from their kitchen tables\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our children should be here. They should be at school, at home, arguing with their siblings, planning their futures,\u2019 the group of parents that includes Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered by two teenagers, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u2018Instead, we are left trying to understand how platforms designed and engineered by some of the most powerful companies in the world were allowed to reach into their bedrooms and shape their lives without meaningful protection.\u2019<\/p>\n

The parents, led by Ellen Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died while attempting an online challenge in 2022, warned tech firms \u2018have extraordinary resources and access\u2019.<\/p>\n

They added: \u2018Every additional delay gives them more opportunity to dilute or weaken reforms behind closed doors. Meanwhile, children remain exposed to products we already know can cause harm.\u2019<\/p>\n

A DSIT spokesman said of the privacy policy concerns: \u2018These claims are utterly absurd. <\/p>\n

‘The reference in question has nothing whatsoever to do with the views people share in this consultation.<\/p>\n

\u2018Like every major website, including the Daily Mail\u2019s own, Savanta are legally required to state that if someone is already logged into platforms like Facebook, Instagram or X when responding to the survey those companies may collect basic technical data such as an IP address.<\/p>\n

\u2018It has no connection to, and no impact on, the personal views or details people choose to share to help us make the next steps on online safety policy.\u2019<\/p>\n

Savanta was approached for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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… their information shared with big tech<\/span> companies. The small print on the Government … fathers \u00e2\u0080\u0098cannot regulate billion-dollar technology<\/span> companies from their kitchen tables … an online challenge in 2022, warned tech<\/span> firms \u00e2\u0080\u0098have extraordinary resources and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}