European teens under 16 years old may soon find themselves barred from posting selfies on Instagram and Snapchat if the European Parliament gets its way. According to reports, voting will commence on Tuesday to determine if amendments to the current regulations will increase the age of consent in Europe from 13 to 16 years old.
The move is intended to shield younger folks from unsuitable content as well as from data tracking. Allegedly, although the original draft of the regulations had set the age of consent at 13 - mirroring the U.S.'s Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) - Europe is amending this part of the regulation as part of their crackdown on tech companies whom they believe are "siphoning data" from European users and transferring it to the U.S.
The draft of the ruling currently reads:
"The processing of personal data of a child below the age of 16 years shall only be lawful if and to the extent that such consent is given or authorised by the holder of parental responsibility over the child."
Critics of the move to raise the age of digital consent claim that it may put many teens at a disadvantage since they will be unable to have access to social media. Also, they will no longer have the privilege to get news online and even use some internet-acquired information for educational purposes.
"We feel that moving the requirement for parental consent from age 13 to age 16 would deprive young people of educational and social opportunities in a number of ways, yet would provide no more (and likely even less) protection," said Janice Richardson, consultant to the United Nations' information technology body, the ITU and the Council of Europe.
Regardless of the approval of the ruling, it may still be quite simple for teens to work around the restriction. Otherwise, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites teens frequent might need to adapt the policy of many adult sites, requiring explicit proof of age, such as a credit card.
Even children under the age of 13, which is the current age of consent in both the U.S. and Europe, could create a social media account if they obtained the permission of their guardian. And even if they didn't, many could simple lie about their age with little difficulty.
The biggest problem technology companies face would be policing the new regulations.
