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Several children's rights groups point out that some apps for young children are potentially dangerous and costly.
According to experts, many applications in the form of games or educational tools often manipulate children with advertisements that give the impression of being part of the game. Children are led to believe that if they click on advertising, it will help them progress in the game. But instead, they are often brought to the app store and encouraged to buy an upgrade, according to Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Child Without Advertising.
"Almost all of these games are marketed as free, but you can not do anything unless you make in-app purchases," Golin said. "And to make matters worse, the game characters make explicit selling points to children who play these games to make in-app purchases and express their disappointment if kids do not buy in-app purchases."
According to Dr. Golin, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have examined approximately 5,000 apps for children and found that more than half of them were likely violating the law on the protection of privacy. online (COPPA).
According to experts, many of these applications, described as free and educational, can also track, collect and share sensitive information, including, in some cases, the physical location of the user – a violation of the federal law. At a press conference, other children's rights advocates joined Golin, along with US Senator Richard Blumenthal, who asks the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a market investigation of applications. for children of preschool age.
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