Everything brands and creators need to know about YouTube’s new policy on kids

Last week the internet broke. Or you would have thought so, given the cacophony of voices alleging a government conspiracy to remove kids from YouTube.  Well, not quite. But last week was a key milestone in the enforcement of existing kids’ data privacy laws. And the changes YouTube is making will impact how brands engage with kids, and how kids’ content is funded.  Read More

10 kids digital media predictions for 2020 (and what to do about them)

1. A major consumer platform gets fined for kids data privacy breach in Europe under GDPR-K In September, YouTube was fined $170m by the FTC for allowing kids personal data to be collected in a breach of the US COPPA law. Europe has a similar (but stricter) law called GDPR-K, which has the same protections but defines a child as up to the age of 16 in many countries (e.g. Germany, Ireland).  There is currently an active investigation which has the potential to be magnitudinally more consequential than the COPPA decision.  Getting ahead: historically, brands have taken a practical approach to privacy, often rolling out global operating standards ahead of legislation. You should be planning for 16 as the de facto age of digital consent for privacy/contextual. Read More

Women in Tech: An interview with Atena Saadati, Engineering Lead

At SuperAwesome, we’re committed to ensuring that team members grow and up-skill within their team, and the company as a whole. In this Women in Tech series, we’ll be looking at the career paths of various women working in tech within SuperAwesome - from engineers to product managers to everything in between.  Atena studied software engineering at university, and began work as a software engineer after her fourth year. Two years after joining SuperAwesome, she became the Engineering Lead for one of our biggest products, AwesomeAds, the only ad platform built for the global kids industry.  Here, she talks about how her career has evolved within SuperAwesome, and what she does to make the internet safer for kids.  Read More

The 5 most popular #Kidtech interviews of 2019

We’ve had a busy first season on #Kidtech, the SuperAwesome-produced podcast series that goes behind the scenes with the people and companies shaping the digital kids sector.  Since launching earlier this year, we’ve featured everyone from toy companies to kids podcasts; from kids SVOD to kids… Read More

#Kidtech Episode 23: Nick Marsh, Chief Product Officer, Wonderbly

In the final episode of #Kidtech Season One, Nick Marsh, Chief Product Officer for Wonderbly, well known for their LostMyName franchise, chats with SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins about Wonderbly’s journey and the lessons learned along the way. In light of Wonderbly’s recent partnership with Harry… Read More

Women in Tech: An interview with Jess Whatson, Strategy Manager

At SuperAwesome, we’re committed to ensuring team members grow and up-skill within their team, and the company as a whole. In this Women in Tech series, we’ll be looking at the career paths of various women working in tech within SuperAwesome - from engineers to product managers to everything in between.  Jess Whatson joined SuperAwesome as Sales Support in 2016. Her passion for data analysis and the kids digital ecosystem as a whole has led her to her current position, leading our Market Strategy team across EMEA.  Here, she talks about how her career has evolved within SuperAwesome, and what she does to make the internet safer for kids.  Read More

#Kidtech Episode 22: Patricia Scanlon, Founder & CEO, Soapbox Labs

Patricia Scanlon, Founder and CEO of SoapBox Labs, has had an incredible journey in developing child-specific speech technology which enables highly accurate, age-appropriate voice-enabled experiences for children. She sat with SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins in Dublin to discuss why Big Tech, adult tech and smart speakers… Read More

Women in Tech: An interview with Kiah Shabka, Head of Information Security

At SuperAwesome, we’re committed to ensuring team members grow and up-skill within their team, and the company as a whole. In this Women in Tech series, we’ll be looking at the career paths of various women working in tech within SuperAwesome - from engineers to product managers to everything in between.  Kiah started out her cyber security career at university where she was a researcher for the university’s Strategy and Security Institute. After graduating she became a cyber security consultant, working with a range of clients from multinational corporations to high-profile individuals. In 2019 she decided to move to an in-house role, and joined SuperAwesome as their Head of InfoSec. Read More

#Kidtech Episode 21: Meredith Halpern-Ranzer, CEO Tinkercast

In Episode 21 of #Kidtech, SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins returns to Radio Waves Studio in New York to sit with Meredith Halpern-Ranzer, CEO of Tinkercast, the company behind the #1 podcast for kids right now – Wow in the World.  Meredith, Chief Executive Tinkerer (as she likes… Read More

#Kidtech Episode 18: Darran Garnham, CEO of MTW Toys

In Episode 18 of #Kidtech, Darran Garnham, CEO of MTW Toys, Europe’s main distributor of Thinkway toys, joins SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins in London to discuss entertainment licensing, digital and physical toys, his angel investment in Calm and some of the history behind Mind Candy. A wide-ranging conversation covering the past, present and future of the kids sector. Read More