ISSUES
: The Internet of Things
Chapter 1: Digital issues
9
Britain opts out of EU law setting social
media age of consent at 16
Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram will be able to process data of anyone 13 and over
after agreement reached.
By James Titcomb
T
he UK will opt out of European privacy laws that
require under-16s to get parents’ permission
to use Facebook and other social media after
a compromise deal on sweeping data protection
legislation.
The proposed rules will set the age of consent for
Internet services that use personal data, including
email, social media and apps at 16, instead of 13
as in many countries around the world. As originally
planned, it would have meant millions of teenagers
requiring permission to use popular Internet services
including Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.
But a compromise reached on Tuesday night will allow
individual countries to apply their own laws on the age
of consent. The Government said it would maintain
current laws allowing those aged 13 and older to use
Internet services, in line with many other countries
around the world.
An amendment inserted into long-awaited data
protection rules last week said that “the processing
of personal data of a child below the age of 16” would
require parental consent, but the final text says that a
member state can have this age as low as 13.
“Concerns have been listened to and the UK’s age of
consent will not be forced to change,” said Conservative
MEP Timothy Kirkhope, who led negotiations for the
European Conservatives and Reformists group.
Raising the age of consent to 16 would have caused a major
headache for Internet services and apps like Facebook,
Instagram, Snapchat, Google and Twitter,
which currently have minimum ages of 13.
The technology industry had warned against
the proposals, as had Internet bullying groups
who warned that it could lead to children lying
about their age.
Facebook’s minimum age has been 13 since
2006, when it was reduced from 17.
Failure to abide by the laws can mean tough
penalties of up to 4 per cent of global turnover.
These could mean tens of millions of pounds
for the biggest Internet companies. The law is
due to be voted on in the new year and come
into force two years late.
16 December 2015
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