IT Live: Ireland’s data protection agency is investigating Instagram following concerns over how the image-sharing social platform handled children’s personal data, according to media reports.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) received complaints that the US firm owned by Facebook had allowed the phone numbers and email addresses of under 18 year olds to remain public, British newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported Sunday.

Following the complaints the DPC, the European Union’s main data privacy regulator, reportedly launched two separate inquiries last month.

According to media reports, the DPC investigations will firstly examine whether the app has the necessary safeguards to securely process users’ data, particularly in regard to child users.

The DPC will also look at whether Instagram is following the Irish regulator’s data protection rules over its profile and account settings.

Dhaka,19 October (campuslive24.com)//ait