Young people should be able to delete internet posts say digital rights campaigners

Young people should be allowed to delete embarrassing internet material a digital rights campaigners group has urged.

The iRights coalition has laid out five rights young people should have, among them the ability to delete content they have uploaded to the internet and to know who profits and holds their information.

It also wants to see children protected from illegal material online, to be able to make informed choices and to be digitally literate.

UK government plans to implement proposals influenced by iRights are being led by Baroness Beeban Kidron and will encourage websites to include “delete” buttons as well as expiry dates for data obtained from under-18s, according to the Daily Mail.

A report by iRights also details how the internet can have a negative influence on the young.

Among the supporters of the campaign are the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as well as academics from the London School of Economicsand the University of Oxford and charities including UNICEF and Children in Need.

Speaking to The Times, Ms Sturgeon said: “We believe that every child and young person has the right to grow up in a safe environment — that principle applies to the virtual world too.”