Instagram Shows Kids' Contact Details in Plain Sight

guest · Jun 14, 2019

Instagram Shows Kids' Contact Details in Plain Sight
Sharing Email Address, Phone Numbers May Be Risky, Experts Say
June 14, 2019
https://www.inforisktoday.com/instagram-shows-kids-contact-details-in-plain-sight-a-12631

Tens of thousands of minors on Instagram expose their email addresses and phone numbers to the public, a situation that child-safety and privacy experts say could be exploited by scammers or predators.

The minors in question have converted their Instagram profiles from personal ones to "business" ones, a category of profile Instagram introduced three years ago.
During that process, users are given the option to list their email address and phone number, or both [...]
It's not clear why so many kids have converted their profiles to business ones, although Instagram has promoted the feature.
Too Much Information
The presence of contact details within Instagram immediately provides direct channels to a child.
Exposing direct contact details for a child is "absolutely a concern" says Toby Dagg of Australia's Office of the eSafety Commissioner, which oversees child-safety internet issues.
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Legal, But Risky?
Instagram isn't violating any laws or data protection regulations. But there are evolving views of how online service providers should be evaluating risk, says Melanie Marks, principal of the Sydney-based privacy and cybersecurity consultancy elevenM.
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guest · Jul 29, 2019

The minors in question have converted their Instagram profiles from personal ones to "business" ones
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Facebook’s next privacy scandal could involve young users’ data on Instagram
July 28, 2019
https://siliconangle.com/2019/07/28...cy-scandal-involve-young-user-data-instagram/

Recent policy changes intended to improve Facebook Inc.’s photo and video sharing service Instagram may have backfired, as young users switch to business accounts that force them to disclose personal information to the public.

“Millions of young people are turning their personal Instagram accounts into ‘business’ profiles to learn more about how their posts are performing,” Bloomberg reported Friday, noting that the trend has unintended privacy consequences.
To switch to an Instagram business account, users agree to provide their phone number or email to the public on the app. With a legitimate business, that’s not a problem, but there is no vetting criteria in that process. That means that anyone can obtain a business account by providing personal information whether or not there’s a legitimate business.

Instagram doesn’t see a problem, telling Bloomberg that “during the setup process, we remind people that their contact information will be accessible to others, and allow them to update or hide that information.”
Even with the choice, the exposure of any private data can be troublesome at the best of times but more so when it involves people under the age of 18.
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guest · Jul 29, 2019

Don't blame Instagram, blame the parents who let their kids go on internet unrestricted so they can have some peace.

guest · Oct 19, 2020

Irish data regulator probes Instagram use of child data
October 19, 2020
https://technology.inquirer.net/104879/irish-data-regulator-probes-instagram-use-of-child-data

Ireland’s data protection agency is investigating Instagram following concerns over how the image-sharing social platform handles children’s personal data, a spokesman said Monday.
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has begun two probes into how the US firm — owned by Facebook — manages the personal data of its users aged below 18.

The first will “establish whether Facebook has a legal basis for the ongoing processing of children’s personal data and if it employs adequate protections,” a DPC statement said.
The second will test the “appropriateness” of Instagram profile and account settings for children, and examine the firm’s “responsibility to protect the data protection rights of children as vulnerable persons.”
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BBC: EU investigates Instagram over handling of children's data

According to reports, the investigation stems from a complaint from David Stier, a US-based data scientist who last year analysed profiles of almost 200,000 Instagram users across the world.

He estimated that for over a year, at least 60 million users under the age of 18 were given the option to easily change their profiles into business accounts.
Instagram business accounts require users to display their phone numbers and email addresses publicly, meaning that personal data belonging to many users is visible to other Instagram users.
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guest · Dec 4, 2020

Why Did Instagram Leak Minors' Email Addresses Again?
December 3, 2020
https://www.govinfosecurity.com/did-instagram-leak-minors-email-addresses-again-a-15452

Social networking poses special risks for minors. Although the point of social media is to be social, sharing too much information can be harmful.
David Stier, a San Francisco-based data scientist, has uncovered situations in which Facebook's Instagram service exposed the contact details of minors, such as email addresses and phone numbers.

In the last month, Stier discovered that Instagram was leaking kids' email addresses within the HMTL of the web version of users' profiles. Instagram has fixed the problem. But questions are being raised over how carefully the company scans for personal data leaks when it makes code changes (see: Instagram Leaked Minors' PII Again, But Now It's Fixed).

"I was truly blown away by the fact that again Instagram was including personally identifiable information in the HTML source code in virtually the exact same manner that they had more than a year and a half ago," Stier says.
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The Irish Data Protection Commission is investigating another one of Stier's findings, in which kids had converted their personal profiles to business ones, which subsequently exposed their email addresses or phone numbers - or both (see: Instagram Shows Kids' Contact Details in Plain Sight).
A second line of inquiry is looking at Facebook's legal basis for processing children's data and whether it uses adequate protections for children (see: Instagram Investigated for Exposure of Minors' Details).
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