posted on 21st September 2012 08:08 am by paty
Facebook and many other web sites bar people under age 13 because the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires web sites to give special treatment to children 12 or younger.
The law aims to stop
marketers prying personal information from children or using their data
to advertise to them. Sites must get parental permission before
allowing children to enter, and must take steps to protect privacy.
Facebook, the world’s leading social media company with 955 million users, has said that the law does not apply to it because it explicitly restricts use of its site to people aged 13 and older.
The study still estimates 5.6 million children are on Facebook, a figure that experts say includes many who create accounts with help from their parents.
Larry Magid, who serves on Facebook’s advisory board and co-directs the Internet group Connect Safely, said he and others studied the issue for a year and found no way to tell if children were lying online.
“The only solution that I am aware of is to access some sort of national ID or school records,” he said. “There are good reasons that we don’t do this. … I’m sure this is really easy to do in totalitarian regimes.”
Facebook and many other web sites bar people under age 13 because the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires web sites to give special treatment to children 12 or younger.
The law aims to stop
marketers prying personal information from children or using their data
to advertise to them. Sites must get parental permission before
allowing children to enter, and must take steps to protect privacy.Facebook, the world’s leading social media company with 955 million users, has said that the law does not apply to it because it explicitly restricts use of its site to people aged 13 and older.
The study still estimates 5.6 million children are on Facebook, a figure that experts say includes many who create accounts with help from their parents.
Larry Magid, who serves on Facebook’s advisory board and co-directs the Internet group Connect Safely, said he and others studied the issue for a year and found no way to tell if children were lying online.
“The only solution that I am aware of is to access some sort of national ID or school records,” he said. “There are good reasons that we don’t do this. … I’m sure this is really easy to do in totalitarian regimes.”
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