Children as consumers

Internet games and other online entertainment can contain marketing that successfully reaches children.

Through websites, children not only encounter marketing, but are also encouraged to buy services, such as cell phone logos and ringtones.

Parents experience the effects of marketing on their children when

• a child demands the purchase of a product that was featured on the Internet
• a child orders products online without permission
• a child uses a cell phone for purchases that are then billed to a parent

Children may also be asked for personal information online that only parents have the right to supply. For example, websites may encourage children to provide

• consent for direct marketing to an e-mail address or mobile phone
• information about the child and about his or her family or friends

Take action

When your child has obtained products or supplied personal information online, you can contact

• the marketer to demand cancellation of the contract
• eConsumer.gov, where consumers can file complaints about e‑commerce problems they have experienced (international database for regulatory authorities)
• a consumer adviser if a dispute arises

You can always

submit a report to the Consumer Agency, which monitors marketing directed at children
Form

notify the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman of the misuse of personal information or other data protection infringements.
Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman

There are ways in which all of these entities can affect the type of marketing that children encounter.

Guidelines for consumer protection:
 
 Sales and marketing of mobile content services