If your group or club has underage administrators, administrators under the age of 18, there are several important aspects to consider in relation to how Spond works and the settings that can be applied.
In Spond, the minimum age to become an administrator is 15. A group administrator is required to comply with the Additional Terms for Spond Group Administrators. At Spond, we place strong emphasis on safeguarding, protecting children and young people, and ensuring that the child’s best interests are prioritised. This principle is a cornerstone in the way we design and develop our features.
When do you have underage administrators?
An underage administrator may, for example, be a young person under the age of 18 who acts as a coach, assistant coach or referee for a team or a group of younger players or age categories.
What should the club/group consider when granting administrator rights to minors?
All adult group administrators should be aware of the consequences of appointing a young person under the age of 18 as an administrator in a group.
An administrator in a main group can see everything that happens in all subgroups within the main group, regardless of the administrator’s age.
Regardless of group role/permissions, any administrator of an event can see messages sent from members/guardians (for example, when declining an event). In these messages, members/guardians may share personal information about illness or finances. The club/group should carefully consider whether it is appropriate for young assistant coaches/referees to have access to this type of information, and establish clear guidelines to raise awareness of this. Alternatively, the youth can be added as a member of the group instead.
Minor administrators often have guardians, and those guardians will then also have access to everything in the group (posts, members, polls, events, etc.) that the young administrator is part of.
If the club/group has set an age limit for communication, e.g. 18 years, guardians will also see all messages from the group the child is a member of.
Membership fields set up in Spond Club that are visible in the group for group administrators will be visible to all administrators, regardless of their group role. It is not possible to restrict visibility based on individual roles.
Privacy, Confidentiality and Duty of Non-Disclosure
Coaches and assistant coaches have a legitimate need for access to personal data at administrator level. This access is necessary in order to carry out their duties as coaches. The fact that coaches and assistant coaches may, in some cases, be minors does not in itself affect the legality of this access solution. Minors may also have a legitimate need for access to personal data.
When it comes to guardians’ access, this is also considered legitimate in light of Spond’s Safeguarding policy. A key purpose of the platform is to help provide a safe and supportive environment, and we believe that guardians’ presence contributes directly to this.
We remind clubs using Spond Club that they are the data controllers for personal data and should ensure that coaches, assistant coaches, and where relevant, guardians receive proper training in the handling of personal data, including confidentiality. This can, for example, be achieved through confidentiality agreements signed by coaches, assistant coaches and guardians.
The club may also set out consequences for breaches of confidentiality. It is up to the club to assess the necessity of such measures based on the risks associated with the specific processing of personal data. Furthermore, the club has a duty to inform affected individuals (members and any other users) about the processing of their personal data. In this case, the club may refer to Spond’s Privacy Policy and, if needed, supplement it with additional internal information.