The Children’s Code (or, more formally, the ‘Age Appropriate Design Code’) contains 15 standards that online services used by children must follow.
These standards ensure that they comply with their obligations under data protection law to protect children’s data online.
The Children’s Code came into force on 2 September 2020, but the Commissioner only began to take it into account when considering whether an online service has complied with its data protection obligations a year later.
The regulator has powers to take action against organisations that break the law, including tough sanctions like orders to stop processing data and fines of up to £17 million or 4% of global turnover (whichever is higher).
The Children’s Code applies to “information society services (ISS) likely to be accessed by children”. The definition of an ISS is “any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the individual request of a recipient of services.” If an online service is likely to be accessed by children under the age of 18, even if it’s not aimed at them, then it is probably covered by the code. Most for-profit online services are ISS and, therefore, can be covered by the code.
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