Social media terms explained so teens know their rights

A social media "jargon buster" guide for teachers and pupils has been created to decipher the meaning of terms and conditions of popular social media apps so young people know what they are “signing up for”.

The guides were created by the children’s commissioner for England and Tes, with the help of specialist privacy law firm Schillings.

The guides outline the rights of the social media companies, and their rules, along with the rights of those who use them. They summarise the terms and conditions set by Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and WhatsApp.

Children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield said: “The social media giants have not done enough to make children aware of what they are signing up to when they install an app or open an account. These are often the first contracts a child signs in their life, yet the terms and conditions are impenetrable, even to most adults.”

She added: “Children have absolutely no idea that they are giving away the right to privacy or the ownership of their data or the material they post online. In today’s digital world children have the right to know what they are signing up to, in clear, simple, easy to understand language.”

The guides will be distributed to schools across England to educate pupils about their digital rights and the value that their personal data holds for social media companies.

They reveal how Snapchat can publically display or sell any content a young person puts on Live or Local Snapchat – meaning they can use a young person’s face and voice in any way.

Instagram can read a user’s direct messages, and all companies collect a range of personal information about their users – including where they are and who they have in their phone book - permission for which is buried in jargon-full terms and conditions.