Concerns raised on baby care companies seeking children’s data from Indian parents

 

Concerns have been raised by experts on how online baby care product retailers and e-commerce companies such as Amazon, FirstCry, parentlane, and Johnson & Johnson’s BabyCenter are offering services such as age-based content, recommendations or discount coupons to parents who share specific information about their children. ‘Children are particularly vulnerable and require heightened privacy protection. Amazon, Parentlane and FirstCry must clarify and inform parents what (they) intend to do with the data being gathered,’ said Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, Apar Gupta.

India is currently in the process of coming up with a law on data protection. The draft legislation bars companies from profiling, tracking or targeting children with advertisements and proposes strict restrictions on guardian data fiduciaries or companies that operate commercial websites or online services directed at children or process large volumes of personal data related to children.