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Europe Wants to Make Kids Under 16 Get Parental Permission to Use Social Media

A last-minute amendment to the EU’s new data protection regulations says teens who want to join Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram need approval from their parents.
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In a last-minute amendment to Europe's new data protection regulations — which were approved on Tuesday after four years of negotiations between various European Union institutions — policy makers raised the legal digital consent age to 16.

According to the text of the agreement, which was published in full by Statewatch, "the processing of personal data of a child below the age of 16 is years […] shall only be lawful if and to the extent that such consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental responsibility over the child."

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In other words, minors under 16 who wish to sign up for Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram will first need to ask their mom or dad.

The article does, however, stipulate that member states will be free to set their own age limits between 13 and 16 years, making the 16-year cut-off effectively nothing more than a guideline.

"The text targets every situation where data collection is based on consent," explained Valérie Sédallian, a Paris attorney specializing in new technologies.

"Sixteen is a crucial age, at least, it is under French law," Sédallian told VICE News. "You can start driving and working when you're 16, and it's also the age you have to be if you are a minor seeking legal emancipation." In some EU states — such as Spain — the age of criminal responsibility is 16.

Related: Facebook's Tracking of Internet Users in Belgium Could Cost It $268,000 a Day

Critics of the original plan to raise the age of digital consent to 16 have argued that most people that age are already on social media. "By the time they reach 16, every teen is registered with at least one social network," said Justine Atlan, director of online child protection charity e-Enfance. Most teens, she said, do not seek parental permission before logging onto Facebook.

While Atlan agreed it was vital to protect the personal data of minors, who are typically less protective of their personal information than adults, she said "the sudden request for parental consent for those under 16" had come a little too late.

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A more "appropriate" solution, she said, would be to encourage tech companies to undertake "more precise and systemic checks of the age of those who join [their networks]." Tech giants such as Facebook should work on "introduce settings that are better adapted to the 13-17 age group, who are today considered adults even though they aren't."

France is one of several EU states that does not have specific legislation relating to the digital rights of minors. In the US, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) forbids website operators from collecting personal data from children under 13 without the consent of a parent or guardian.

In practice, however, the "parental consent" guarantee outlined in the COPPA and in the EU's proposed legislation has never really been implemented. For example, many children lie about their age to get around Facebook's minimum age requirement of 13. And since Facebook bases its age verifications on the personal information submitted by users, these controls are completely inefficient.

Related: Facebook's Tracking of Internet Users in Belgium Could Cost It $268,000 a Day

"We know that a huge number of children join social networks before they are 13," explained Atlan. "They acquire smartphones when they start middle school, around the age of 11, and that's often when they sign up." In France alone, Facebook has an estimated 2.3 million subscribers between the ages of 12 and 17.

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If some EU states decide to raise the age limit to 16, tech companies like Facebook will no longer be able to hide behind the potentially false information provided by users, and will be forced to find a real solution.

According to the agreement, companies will face sizable fines if they don't make "reasonable efforts to verify […] that consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental responsibility over the child, taking into consideration available technology."

"It could be email consent, linking up to a credit card, an electronic signature — methods that already used in the context of online gambling," said Atlan.

"The networks have grown incredibly fast and for that reason, they never bothered figuring out these issues," she said. "But now they are giants, it's time they implemented real controls."

The agreement still needs to be formally adopted by the EU council and parliament in early 2016. If the text is approved, the new regulations will be put in place at the end of a two-year transition phase.

Follow Lucie Aubourg on Twitter: @LucieAbrg