More than 30 privacy and data protection authorities worldwide have launched a coordinated investigation into how digital services handle children’s personal information, marking the start of the 2025 Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) privacy sweep.
According to the GPEN announcement, regulators will scrutinize websites and mobile applications popular with children to determine whether they collect minors’ data responsibly, provide clear privacy disclosures, and use effective age-verification systems. The sweep will also assess whether these platforms employ sufficient safeguards to limit tracking, profiling, and exposure to inappropriate content.
The initiative, running from November 3 to 7, 2025, is being coordinated by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, and the Office of the Data Protection Authority of Guernsey. It coincides with the 10-year anniversary of GPEN’s first children’s privacy sweep in 2015, offering a chance to measure how online protections have evolved over the past decade.
Organizers say the 2025 sweep reflects growing concerns about children’s exposure to digital risks as online spaces become central to their education, socialization, and entertainment. The review will focus on whether digital services prioritize the best interests of children, particularly in preventing intrusive data collection and behavioral targeting practices.
The Global Privacy Enforcement Network, established in 2010, connects privacy regulators across jurisdictions to strengthen cross-border enforcement of data protection laws. Since 2013, GPEN has carried out a series of thematic sweeps—examining everything from mobile app permissions to the transparency of privacy notices—to promote global cooperation and raise awareness of privacy rights and responsibilities.
Findings from the 2025 children’s privacy sweep will be compiled and released in a report in the coming months, offering insight into industry compliance and guiding future enforcement and educational actions.
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