{"id":3595,"date":"2023-01-18T13:30:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T19:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/texas\/articles\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\/"},"modified":"2023-01-18T13:30:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T19:30:09","slug":"addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/texas\/articles\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Addictive apps gather data on children"},"featured_media":45826,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[184],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"person_tax":[],"region_tax":[],"state":[7,2],"topic_tax":[152,145],"class_list":["post-3595","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[145,152,159],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":false,"event_type":false,"campaigns":184,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[7,2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":145}},"featured_image":45826,"caption_override":"","excerpt":"Apps and games use manipulative tactics to keep kids online longer, and extract data about them.","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":[],"hide_hero_image":false,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":4,"people":"208"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many apps and games use manipulative tactics to keep kids online longer, and extract data about them. Companies want kids\u2019 identifying information so that it can be sold, used to track their interests, show them ads, and sell them products. High-tech <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/articles\/electronic-toys-can-collect-your-childs-data\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201csmart toys\u201d can gather data on kids<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, too, and send that info to the manufacturer. Many of these apps and games are designed specifically to capture kids\u2019 attention, and can use the same techniques as slot machines to keep kids glued to their screens - allowing for the collection of more data, and the serving of more ads. (This is not dissimilar from what apps and games try to do to, well, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/articles\/cookie-pop-ups-why-you-should-think-twice-hitting-accept\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">all of us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.)<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most concerningly, right now, companies are free to design games and apps geared to children with the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/11\/17\/business\/childrens-privacy-games-tom-tiktok.html\">manipulative techniques<\/a> they can muster.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Features like autoplay and lock screen notifications to check platforms can contribute to longer screen time. Some platforms have default settings that make kids share more information and data about themselves than is necessary for the service they\u2019re getting. And still others entice kids to spend large sums of money in exchange for in-game perks.<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spending more and more time looking at screens -- like these apps are designed to encourage kids to do -- can pose a risk to kids\u2019 physical and mental health. Excess screen time can lead to eye problems, and to a lack of sleep during developmental periods when getting enough sleep is crucial. And rising anxiety and depression in minors have been linked to social media use.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are lots of rules and laws written to protect kids in the offline world. We have laws to protect kids from health threats caused by lead paint and unsafe toys, and to enforce safety standards for things like car seats.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But even though kids are spending more and more time online to learn, socialize, and play, there are very few strong rules ensuring the web is a safe and healthy place for our youngest citizens.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">California took an important step forward last year in passing the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/articles\/kids-spend-a-lot-of-time-online-lets-help-them-do-it-safely\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Age Appropriate Design Code Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which CALPIRG supported. This law will require companies to consider the impacts their online services will have on kids <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">before<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> any child can log on.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, PIRG and other groups <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/updates\/groups-ask-ftc-to-ban-unfair-manipulation-of-kids-online\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are calling on the FTC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to take these ideas and turn them into a national rule, stopping companies from purposefully designing their products to manipulate kids with addictive apps.<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_article","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_article":{"article":[3227]}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Addictive apps gather data on children<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Apps and games use manipulative tactics to keep kids online longer, and extract data about them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/texas\/articles\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Addictive apps gather data on children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Apps and games use manipulative tactics to keep kids online longer, and extract data about them.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/texas\/articles\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TexPIRG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/texas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/child-using-computer-lars-plogmann-cc-by-sa-2.0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1461\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"NewsArticle\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dev.pirg-test.com\\\/texas\\\/articles\\\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dev.pirg-test.com\\\/texas\\\/articles\\\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Addictive apps gather data on children\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dev.pirg-test.com\\\/texas\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dev.pirg-test.com\\\/texas\\\/articles\\\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dev.tpin-test.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/child-using-computer-lars-plogmann-cc-by-sa-2.0.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-01-18T19:30:09+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Apps and games use manipulative tactics to keep kids online longer, and extract data about them.\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/dev.pirg-test.com\\\/texas\\\/articles\\\/addictive-apps-gather-data-on-children\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"headline\": \"Addictive apps gather data on children\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": null,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t                \"name\": \"TexPIRG\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/dev.pirg-test.com\\\/texas\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"R.J. 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