Battling digital damage – families and young people looking for expert help managing reputations online

As the iRights initiative launched this summer – campaigning for the rights of children and young people to be able to easily edit or delete personal information online – new research revealed a growing demand for specialist support.

According to a report from British reputation experts, Igniyte, 40 per cent of their inquiries now come from individuals, rather than corporations. Of those, another 40 per cent wanted help removing incorrect, defamatory or libellous information.

A further 21 per cent were parents or family members of young people concerned about their online reputation or behaviour.

In addition, 16 per cent of all new clients were looking for support with ‘Right to be Forgotten’ applications.

Concern growing over reputations online needing protection

Despite being widely criticised for apparently allowing criminals to hide their past from the public, most requests were from people just wanting to protect their personal information and privacy, with more than a third (34 per cent) the victims, or family of the victims, of a crime.

Commenting on the findings and iRights campaign, Igniyte’s managing partner Simon Wadsworth (pictured left) said: “Concern regarding content online is growing and, with regard to young people, the iRights campaign is very much needed to protect them. Young people’s digital literacy often surpasses their parents’, teachers’ or guardians’, resulting in content online without advice on what should and should not be shared.

“For the iRights campaign to be a success, it needs to be backed by the main search engines and social platforms who tend to house the content that young people post online. Further legislation is required to protect them and practical steps taken to ensure children and adults are educated on how things are published, who can see them and what can be removed.”