Impact case study database

Findings from UoN research have directly contributed to the UK’s current position as a world-leader in designing and implementing online protection for children through the ‘Age Appropriate Design Code’ that came into force on 2 September 2020. More than 9 in 10, 5- to 16-year-olds in the UK use online services ( OFCOM2019) and the implementation of the Age Appropriate Design Code ensures that the rights of those ~14 million children are prioritised in the design of online services.

The expertise and outputs of researchers working on this programme of work – led by the Horizon Digital Economy research group – has driven policy change to protect the rights of young people online nationally. Collaboration with key stakeholders and the contribution of evidence-based research findings have ensured the Horizon team are a key influencer and trusted source for policy consultation. The approach of engaging young people in the research from the offset has enabled their own concerns and proposed solutions to reach public debate and influence policy change.

Influencing government discourse and policy change

In January 2017, the report ‘The Internet on Our Own Terms’, a key output from the Horizon led CaSMa project, was launched in the UK parliament by Baroness Kidron. The report detailed the Youth Jury findings which provided evidence for the key recommendations; provision of comprehensive digital education; and more visibility, control and transparency online for young people [C] . Following the submission of written evidence by Horizon for the House of Lords enquiry ‘Growing up with the internet’, Professor Derek McAuley was the only academic researcher to be invited to the House of Lords to present oral evidence on 11 October 2016 to 11 members, at a meeting chaired by Lord Best [B]. Professor McAuley disseminated the key findings of the Youth Juries in the CaSMa project and within his evidence, addressed age appropriate design, accessibility of terms and conditions, privacy of age verification mechanisms, education and monetisation of data .

‘Growing up with the internet’, a House of Lords Select Committee report, was published in March 2017 and cited Horizon research 7 times in paragraphs 85, 170, 171, 175, 235, 272, 291. The content included the key topics Prof McAuley addressed when invited to the House of Lords and outlined in the ‘The Internet on Our Own Terms’ report: safety of Internet of Things, accessibility of terms and conditions, control over personal data, and a lack of transparency of how algorithms work . A key recommendation was a call for sustained leadership from government at the highest level, including a minimum standard for those providing internet services and content, and a commitment to child centred design [D].

Building upon these contributions to political discourse, Baroness Kidron successfully lobbied for an amendment to the UK Data Protection Act, 2018 (enshrining EU GDPR in UK law) during the House of Lords report stage to include child specific protection [E] . This was approved in November 2017 with cross-party support, becoming section 123 of the act, requiring the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to introduce an Age Appropriate Design Code to set standards that make online services ‘age appropriate’ [F]. ‘Research findings from CaSMa and UnBias projects led by Horizon were instrumental to the campaign led in 2017, which resulted in the successful amendment to the UK Data Protection Act, 2018,’ Baroness Kidron [A].

Contributing to content of new UK legislation

In addition to research findings from Horizon Digital Economy influencing the amendment to the UK Data Protection Act 2018 to protect the rights of young people, the research also informed the content of the ‘Age Appropriate Design Code’ developed by the Information Commissioner’s Office, UK.

In September 2018, Horizon and 5Rights Foundation submitted written evidence to the finalised ICO Code, based on the key findings from the UnBias and CaSMa Youth Juries [G]. One of the six key documents used to evidence the Age Appropriate Design Code, the ‘Digital Childhood report’ was developed in December 2017 by 5Rights with contributions from academic researchers including Elvira Perez, and referencing findings from Horizon research, ‘The Internet on Our Own Terms’ on pages 8, 9 and 11 [H] . The final code was published by the ICO in January 2020 and came into force in September 2020. It includes 15 provisions for the protection of children’s data and is currently undergoing a 12-month transition period to enable organisations who provide online services that are likely to be accessed by children in the UK to make the necessary changes in the best interests of the child. The Information Commissioners office states; ‘ In the UK, Parliament and government have acted to ensure that our domestic data protection laws truly transform the way we safeguard our children when they access online services by requiring the Commissioner to produce this statutory code of practice. This code seeks to protect children within the digital world, not protect them from it’ [I]

To date we see emerging compliance, such as Tik-Tok removing direct messaging for under 16s and Instagram removing the “following” tab. However, most international organizations will be taking the transition period to implement the changes needed and so we will continue to see emerging compliance as we approach the September 2021 deadline.

Contributing research evidence to child rights organisation, 5Rights

Since 2014, the 5Rights Foundation and Horizon Digital Economy research group have collaborated to generate and disseminate evidence of high academic rigour to support submissions to inform policy makers, children’s organisations, and regulators in the rights of children online. Horizon researchers have supported 5Rights in their mission to create a digital world fit for children and young people, ensuring that the recently passed legislation – the Age Appropriate Design Code – and future regulation, is based on high quality research evidence.

The expertise of the Horizon researchers has also supported 5Rights’ work consulting on the development of The General Comment for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), an authoritative interpretation on how to interpret and implement children’s rights for governments worldwide. Ansgar Koene’s position on the board of trustees for 5Rights has further strengthened the translation of research to policy evidence; in particular, his expertise on AI ethics and their relation to children [A].