An independent child safety advisor for Facebook has spoke out against the social media giant and slammed its approach to child protection. The comments come just days after Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg defended the app that spied on teenagers. Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute says Facebook's 'rather lax approach' was 'most concerning'. Reports found the only child safeguard in place for the data pillaging app the platform was a tickbox which could be selected by the teen without parental oversight. The 'research' app was banned by Apple after the company said the app violated its privacy and data collection rules but is still operational on Android. Scroll down for video Facebook has admitted to paying young people to install a 'social media research' app which monitors their web activity, according to reports. Apple banned the app, formerly known as Onavo VPN, from the app store because it violated its data collection policies Tests conducted by a BBC journalist found youngsters were easily able to sign up without getting permission. 'Facebook Atlas is a questionable programme on a number of fronts,' said Mr Balkam, chief executive of the Family Online Safety Institute and a member of 'Facebook's Safety Advisory Board. 'Project Atlas' was the name Facebook began to use in ads on Snapchat and Instagram for the app shortly after Apple forced its removal from their store; it was formerly known as Onavo VPN. 'Most concerning is the rather lax approach to getting verifiable parental consent for the teens who participated. Facebook told MailOnline: 'As is common across the industry, we worked with vendors who instituted their own age screening and parental consent mechanisms. 'We are following up with all our vendors on the implementation of these. 'We reached out to the vendor in this instance, who explained that based on their initial investigation, an error was made in late 2018 that allowed participants under 18, who they normally would have blocked, to participate in the study. 'This error has been corrected.' The BBC's North America technology reporter Dave Lee registered himself as a fourteen-year-old boy and found that he had been able to sign up without proper parental consent, writing that for 'at least one of the vendors, consent was basically a checkbox' 'Given the tech backlash in general and the intense focus on Facebook's privacy policies, this is most unfortunate.' The BBC's North America technology reporter Dave Lee registered himself as a fourteen-year-old boy and found that he had been able to sign up without proper parental consent. Facebook's controversial 'research' app that snooped on the data of teenagers did not need to properly obtain full parental permission. COO Sheryl Sandberg defended the app in an interview with CNBC, saying users 'consented' He wrote on Twitter: 'Another update relating to consent. FB statement said teens had provided parental consent before using the program. I asked FB what exactly that meant - signed form, scanned? - they said the vendors handled it. For at least one of the vendors, consent was basically a checkbox.' Facebook blamed this on a third-party company it had employed to add volunteers. A spokeswoman told the BBC: 'We reached out to the vendor in this instance, who explained that based on their initial investigation, an error was made in late 2018 that allowed participants under 18, who they normally would have blocked, to participate in the study. 'This error has been corrected.' Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was slammed for 'lying' after she defended the app that was 'preying' on teenagers as young as 13 by paying them to supply data and have all their phone activity monitored. In an interview yesterday, Ms Sandberg said the teens who took part in the 'research project' had 'consented' to share the information and therefore knew what they were getting into. Facebook has come under fire from all sides for the latest in a series of privacy disasters, with pundits describing their actions as 'shameful' and comparing the firm to a 'criminal enterprise' in light of the latest revelations. The company took advantage of Apple's enterprise developer certificate, which enables companies to distribute apps internally, to create an app that paid users as young as 13 to share their phone activity with Facebook. Among the data collected from teens by the app was all of their phone and web activity, information on apps they installed, when they used them and what they did on them. It raises new questions over how much Sandberg and CEO Mark Zuckerberg knew about the firm's activities. The pair are already facing calls from investors to resign over previous privacy breach scandals and PR disasters that have blighted the social media company since last spring. Ms Sandberg, in particular, has taken hits to her reputation as she continues to be the frontwoman for Facebook's excuses over its privacy shortfalls, with some questioning whether she'd take the fall and lose her job the firm. 'I want to be clear what this is. This is a Facebook research app,' MS Sandberg told CNBC. 'It's completely opt-in. There is a rigorous consent flow and people are compensated... The important thing is that people involved in that research project knew they were involved and consented.' After downloading the app, it showed a warning saying downloading the app would 'allow any app from this enterprise developer' to be used on your iPhone and may allow access to your data.' But what it didn't explicitly say was that the app would collect all of their phone and website activity. In addition, it would track what apps they downloaded, when they used them and what they do on them THE DATA FACEBOOK COLLECTED FROM TEENAGERS AS YOUNG AS 13 Users who 'consented' to take part in the program were instructed to download a 'Research VPN' app. The app was previously referred to as 'Onavo VPN.' After downloading the app, it showed a warning saying downloading the app would 'allow any app from this enterprise developer' to be used on your iPhone and may allow access to your data.' But what it didn't explicitly say was that the app would collect all of their phone and website activity. In addition, it would track what apps they downloaded, when they used them and what they do on them. Ms Sandberg claims Facebook pulled the app after it 'realized we weren't in compliance with the rules on [Apple's] platform.' However, Apple says it removed the app because it violated its data collection policies - and also banned Facebook from using any of its internal apps. Some have questioned whether the warnings supplied to users explicitly state what kinds of data the app would collect. After downloading the Research VPN app, users were shown a warning that said: 'Trusting will allow any app from this enterprise developer' to be used on your iPhone and may allow access to your data.' Many are viewing the debacle as the latest example of a growing 'cold war' between tech companies. 'I find this behavior shameful. Taking advantage of people who do not understand the value of the data they generate,' Claudiu Musat, director of research for Data, Analytics and AI at Swisscom, https://twitter.com/_Claudiu_Musat/status/1090641953975341058?s=20. 'Targeting kids of all people! As a parent I'm appalled. I am so happy I stopped using Facebook years ago.' Another expert said Facebook's actions with the 'research' app were 'beyond the pale.' 'I used to think a reasonable response to Facebook was simple 'break them up',' David Heinemeir Hansson, a Danish programmer and partner of web application company Basecamp, https://twitter.com/dhh/status/1090416912230567936. 'But maybe the real solution here is more akin to 'shut them down.' Their incessant preying on kids and teenagers is beyond pale. From 5-year old 'whales' to bribing 13-year olds for spying rights.' SHERYL SANDBERG TRIES TO SAVE FACE AT FACEBOOK - AGAIN Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg defended the company's creepy 'research' app which paid teens as young as 13 to supply all their phone and web activity. Sandberg claims teens who volunteered to take part consented to have their data used, knowing full well the extent to which they'd be monitored. 'I want to be clear what this is. This is a Facebook research app,' Sandberg told CNBC. 'It's completely opt-in. There is a rigorous consent flow and people are compensated. '...The important thing is that people involved in that research project knew they were involved and consented,' she added. Sandberg has regularly been put up to the task of saving Facebook's reputation, conducting media tours in the wake of the company's string of privacy scandals. However, skeptics continue to question Sandberg's excuses for Facebook's privacy shortfalls, with some of them leaving a negative impact on her own reputation. And, after Mark Zuckerberg blamed Sandberg for Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, many wondered whether she would keep her job at the company. However, Zuckerberg clarified in a recent CNN interview that he hopes that he and Sandberg can continue to 'work together for decades to come.' Guardian Mobile Firewall's security expert Will Strafach said the company didn't provide enough information to users about what data they would share by consenting to take part in the research program. 'Facebook provides claims for what data they will collect, and perhaps they are true,' Ms Strafach explained. 'However, they DO NOT inform users of the massive amount of access you hand them when hitting 'Trust' on their Root Certificate. 'I do not think users can reasonably consent without this knowledge,' he added. Ms Strafach went on to say that Ms Sandberg's comments defending the app didn't seem 'credible at all.' Longtime Apple pundit John Gruber said the discovery of Facebook's 'research' app reinforced his belief that the company is akin to a 'criminal enterprise.' 'No regular developer would get away with this,' Mr Gruber wrote on his blog 'Daring Fireball. Facebook is betting that their apps are too popular, that they can do what they want and Apple has to sit back and take it. I keep saying Facebook is a criminal enterprise, and I'm not exaggerating. Sometimes a bully needs to be punched in the face, not just told to knock it off.' Employees quickly became angered after Apple's crackdown on its controversial 'research' app led to it also blocking internal apps used by thousands of staffers. Apple yanked Facebook's app permissions after a TechCrunch report found the company was skirting the iPhone maker's App Store policies to distribute a research app that paid teens in exchange for letting them track their smartphone activity. WHY DID FACEBOOK'S RESEARCH APP GET BANNED BY APPLE? Facebook has been forced to kill off a controversial app after it admitted to paying young people to install the 'social media research' app which monitors their web activity, according to reports. The social media giant, which has been harangued for privacy breaches in recent months, recruited people aged from 13-35 to download the app on their devices. Apple decided to ban the app, formerly known as Onavo VPN, from the app store because it violated its data collection policies. But according to an investigation by TechCrunch, Facebook has sidestepped the App Store and paying users up to $20 a month, plus referral fees. Facebook later told TechCrunch it would shut down the iOS version of its Research app in the wake of the report - but that the Android version will continue. An Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch: 'We designed our Enterprise Developer Program solely for the internal distribution of apps within an organization,' said a spokesperson. 'Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple. 'Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which is what we did in this case to protect our users and their data.' App Store rules stipulate that apps 'should not collect information about which other apps are installed on a user's device,' according to Guardian Mobile Firewall's security expert Will Strafach. The move has since caused internal chaos at Facebook, where staffers have taken to internal discussion groups to voice their frustration over being unable to use employee-only iOS apps. Facebook employees were unable to access internal iOS apps, such as beta versions of the Facebook app, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. They were also unable to use employee apps for 'seeing the day's lunch schedule' or book shuttles to and from work. The move ended up hampering staffers' productivity, as they were blocked from opening internal test versions of core apps. With staffers unable to access restricted versions of these apps, they were forced to download public versions from the App Store instead. 'This is probably one of the worse things that can happen to the company internally,' one Facebook employee told Business Insider. Apple's decision also meant Facebook employees couldn't do basic things like use Ride, the company's app for securing rides on its Menlo, Park campus, as well as Mobile Home, which posts updates for employees. Many Facebook employees began to vent their frustration in internal discussion groups, with some chastising Facebook for the chaos. Others blamed Apple, saying the company was https://twitter.com/robaeprice/status/1090689863307878400 them. 'We can't aspire for good press while continuing to not play by the rules,' one employee said, according to Business Insider. 'Self-inflicted wound. When are we gonna learn?,' another remarked. 'FYI: it's total chaos over inside [Facebook] internal channels right now,' New York Times reporter Mike Isaac tweeted. 'Half the people are like 'uhhhh why do none of my apps work.' Truly amazing.' Facebook said it was 'working closely with Apple' to bring the employee-only iOS apps back online, according to Business Insider. The company confirmed to several outlets on Wednesday that its internal apps were down as a result of the move. Facebook employees are furious after Apple's crackdown on its controversial 'research' app led to it also blocking internal iOS apps used by thousands of staffers It's unclear if the internal apps have been brought back online as of Thursday morning. Many pointed out that, due to the debacle, Facebook may be subject to an extra review process when it submits apps to the App Store in the future. 'We designed our Enterprise Developer Program solely for the internal distribution of apps within an organization,' Apple told the Guardian. 'Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple. 'Any developer using their enterprise certificates to distribute apps to consumers will have their certificates revoked, which is what we did in this case to protect our users and their data.' FACEBOOK'S PRIVACY DISASTERS December 2018: Facebook comes under fire after a bombshell report discovered the firm allowed over 150 companies, including Netflix, Spotify and Bing, to access unprecedented amounts of user data, such as private messages. Some of these 'partners' had the ability to read, write, and delete Facebook users' private messages and to see all participants on a thread. It also allowed Microsoft's search engine, known as Bing, to see the name of all Facebook users' friends without their consent. Amazon was allowed to obtain users' names and contact information through their friends, and Yahoo could view streams of friends' posts. As of last year, Sony, Microsoft, and Amazon could all obtain users' email addresses through their friends. September 2018: Facebook disclosed that it had been hit by its worst ever data breach, affecting 50 million users - including those of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. Attackers exploited the site's 'View As' feature, which lets people see what their profiles look like to other users. Facebook says it has found no evidence 'so far' that hackers broke into third-party apps after a data breach exposed 50 million users (stock image) The unknown attackers took advantage of a feature in the code called 'Access Tokens,' to take over people's accounts, potentially giving hackers access to private messages, photos and posts - although Facebook said there was no evidence that had been done. The hackers also tried to harvest people's private information, including name, sex and hometown, from Facebook's systems. Facebook said it doesn't yet know if information from the affected accounts has been misused or accessed, and is working with the FBI to conduct further investigations. However, Mark Zuckerberg assured users that passwords and credit card information was not accessed. As a result of the breach, the firm logged roughly 90 million people out of their accounts earlier today as a security measure. March 2018: Facebook made headlines earlier this year after the data of 87 million users was improperly accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy. The disclosure has prompted government inquiries into the company's privacy practices across the world, and fueled a '#deleteFacebook' movement among consumers. Communications firm Cambridge Analytica had offices in London, New York, Washington, as well as Brazil and Malaysia. The company boasts it can 'find your voters and move them to action' through data-driven campaigns and a team that includes data scientists and behavioural psychologists. 'Within the United States alone, we have played a pivotal role in winning presidential races as well as congressional and state elections,' with data on more than 230 million American voters, Cambridge Analytica claims on its website. The company profited from a feature that meant apps could ask for permission to access your own data as well as the data of all your Facebook friends. The data firm suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix (pictured), after recordings emerged of him making a series of controversial claims, including boasts that Cambridge Analytica had a pivotal role in the election of Donald Trump This meant the company was able to mine the information of 87 million Facebook users even though just 270,000 people gave them permission to do so. This was designed to help them create software that can predict and influence voters' choices at the ballot box. The data firm suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix, after recordings emerged of him making a series of controversial claims, including boasts that Cambridge Analytica had a pivotal role in the election of Donald Trump. This information is said to have been used to help the Brexit campaign in the UK. It has also suffered several previous issues. In 2013, Facebook disclosed a software flaw that exposed 6 million users' phone numbers and email addresses to unauthorized viewers for a year, while a technical glitch in 2008 revealed confidential birth-dates on 80 million Facebook users' profiles. All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility