Jargon-busting guide to help children understand what they're signing up to on social media

A social media 'jargon-buster' is to be distributed through schools across England to help children understand what they are signing up to when they join Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and WhatsApp.

Testing with a group of young people on the T&Cs of Instagram, which run to 17 pages and 5,000 words, found it was impossible for them to understand that they were signing up to terms including a privacy waiver, tracking - even when the app is not in use - and the commercialisation of their personal data.

Instagram is used by 56% of 12 to 15-year-olds and 43% of eight to 11-year-olds who have a social media account, according to Ofcom figures.

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. 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.

"These are large multi-national billion dollar companies who play a significant part in the lives of many young people.

"While they are starting to engage with these issues, and I am pleased that Facebook have said they are willing to work with me on making improvements, much more needs to be done by all of these companies to make them accountable and transparent."