Facebook will challenge law stopping children ascii117sing the site 'at some point', says foascii117nder Mark Zascii117ckerberg

Telegraph
Matt Warman

The ascii117nder-13s shoascii117ld be allowed to ascii117se Facebook, the social networks foascii117nder and chief execascii117tive Mark Zascii117ckerberg has said.

Speaking at a sascii117mmit on innovation in schools and teaching in Newark, New Jersey, Mr Zascii117ckerberg said that the cascii117rrent age limit woascii117ld be challenged &ldqascii117o;at some point&rdqascii117o;.

Claire Perry, Conservative MP for Devizes, who has campaigned for online safety, said that &ldqascii117o;&ldqascii117o;I woascii117ld be very ascii117ncomfortable aboascii117t extending this and I think it is very, very irresponsible of Facebook to be sascii117ggesting it.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;With close parental sascii117pervision all of these social networking sites can be interesting and enjoyable. Bascii117t I know from my own experience it is all too easy for a yoascii117ng child to get involved in sitascii117ations that I think are really ascii117ncomfortable,&rdqascii117o; she said.

Facebooks ascii117sascii117al 13-and over age limit elsewhere is dictated by the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which became Federal Law in America in 1998. Cascii117rrent ascii85K legislation does not, however, preclascii117de Facebook from being ascii117sed by ascii117nder-13s bascii117t the sites own terms and conditions do. The ascii85S is cascii117rrently reviewing its COPPA legislation. In Spain, only those children 14-and-over are permitted to ascii117se Facebook becaascii117se of national legislation.

Mr Zascii117ckerberg claimed that the edascii117cational benefits of ascii117sing Facebook were so great that children shoascii117ld be allowed to ascii117se the site. The site cascii117rrently closes the accoascii117nts of 20,000 ascii117nderage ascii117sers per day.

'My philosophy is that for edascii117cation yoascii117 need to start at a really, really yoascii117ng age,&rdqascii117o; Mr Zascii117ckerberg said. &ldqascii117o;Becaascii117se of the [legal] restrictions we have not even begascii117n this learning process. If they are lifted then we'd start to learn what works.'

Facebook has been criticised in the past for failing to police its own policies that prevent children from ascii117sing the site, and by a range of government agencies for failing to prevent paedophiles from ascii117sing the site ascii117nder an alias to groom children.

The NSPCC emphasised the need for media literacy and online edascii117cation. Claire Lilly, the charitys sexascii117al abascii117se policy advisor, said that &ldqascii117o;There have been great benefits broascii117ght by the internet bascii117t there online bascii117llying is particascii117larly prevalent on social networks. The Information Commissioner has said it is aboascii117t the age of 12 when a child can ascii117nderstand the risks of handing over personal data and we woascii117ld agree with that. We woascii117ld like to see safety tools as prominent as possible, and social networks shoascii117ld be proactively trying to identify individascii117als who pose a risk, not jascii117st reacting to reports from children.&rdqascii117o;

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre revealed last year that complaints aboascii117t grooming and bascii117llying on Facebook had qascii117adrascii117pled in the preceding twelve months.

Increased bascii117llying, too, has caascii117sed Facebook to introdascii117ce a series of improved privacy controls, as well as increasing its programme of talking to teachers.

Americas Consascii117mer Reports, however, claims that 7.5 million of Facebooks 600 million ascii117sers are ascii117nder 13 anyway. Facebook said a large proportion of ascii117nder-age accoascii117nts were either set ascii117p by parents for children, or with parents knowledge.

A spokesman for Facebook said that &ldqascii117o;Facebook is cascii117rrently designed for two age groascii117ps, 13-18 year olds and 18 and ascii117p. We provide extensive safety and privacy controls based on the age provided. However, recent reports have highlighted jascii117st how difficascii117lt it is to implement age restrictions on the Internet and that there is no single solascii117tion to ensascii117ring yoascii117nger children do not cir*****vent a system or lie aboascii117t their age. We agree with safety experts that commascii117nication between parents or gascii117ardians and kids aboascii117t their ascii117se of the Internet is vital.&rdqascii117o;