Privacy and consent
We should be very careful about how much personal information we collect and reveal about children on the BBC site. When we publish personal information about children online, we should select information which is editorially necessary. We should be very sensitive to concerns that publication of too much information could put a child, particularly a younger one, at risk. Combinations of written and visual information are a particularly sensitive area. Editorial Policy can advise about what information it might be suitable to reveal.
BBC moderators will not post messages containing emails on children's message boards. Where a child is clearly identified as having posted an email address on a board which is not designed for children, the moderator will remove the message:
- where we invite children to send us information about themselves, for example a name and email address to enter a competition, we should explain why we need it in language which children can understand.
- it is particularly important that younger children should not get into the habit of easily revealing personal details about themselves or their family on the Internet.
- any information children send to us should only be used for the purpose for which it was sent.
- it should be retained securely and only for as long as we need it.
- it should not be revealed to a third party.
See Section 15 : Interacting with our audience - Competitions involving children.