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WhatsApp Raises Minimum Age In Europe To 16 Ahead of Data Law Change (reuters.com)
WhatsApp is raising its minimum age from 13 to 16 in Europe to help it comply with new data privacy rules coming into force next month. The app will ask European users to confirm they are at least 16 years old when they are prompted to agree to new terms of service and a privacy policy provided by a new WhatsApp Ireland entity in the next few weeks. Reuters reports: Facebook, which has a separate data policy, is taking a different approach to teens aged between 13 and 15 in order to comply with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law. It is asking them to nominate a parent or guardian to give permission for them to share information on the platform, otherwise they will not see a fully personalized version of the social media platform. But WhatsApp, which had more than 1.5 billion users in January according to Facebook, said in a blog post it was not asking for any new rights to collect personal information in the agreement it has created for the European Union. WhatsApp's minimum age of use will remain 13 years in the rest of the world, in line with its parent.
It might not stop kids from lying. But AI is getting better at weeding out underage users. And finding the real identities behind Internet pseudonyms. The result being people getting their accounts suspended.
Have gnu, will travel.
You can not enter a contract with a minor as a business and maybe as an adult(?), That button afaik is a contract.
There are plenty of ways around this, unless people are going to completely block anonymous(proxy's and ToR) communication with their servers.
...they could just stop collecting so much data in Whatsapp. I wonder how many of its users are actually under-16? My kids and lots of their school friends use it for school work as well as personal contact. Most of them don't have Facebook accounts. Seems like a bad decision to kick your future user-base out of your ecosystem.
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
No, kid under age will not actually click the "16+" button on WhatsApp's authorisation page...
...for the simple reason that they don't use WhatsApp.
They tend to hang out on SnapChat.
(Which is the reason why the Zuck is nervous about them : there the only successful social app that he didn't manage to buy like WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
The law is not only about data you do not need. It is also about data you do need to do the business. Various data is needed to open e.g. a credit card. Not only do you need the name and phonenumber, you also do need proof of income, proof of adress, bank account details, email and phonenumber and some other things.
So even if WatsApp would only store relative information and nothing else, it would need to have some information so somebody else can send you an image of a cat.
If they would hold no information, they would not be able to send you that image.
So some information is needed and that means registration and that means for humans under the age of 16 that they need to appoint a guardian.
Well, at least they can celebrate their access to WatsApp with a beer when they turn 16, so that is nice.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
This is stupid, I have been on the internet since i was a kid. I cant tell you how many times I said i was 13 when I was under.. And even more saying I was 18 when I was nowhere close. I am by no means advocating for having to give ID and prove someone is a certain age, I however this these kinds of laws are bullshit and everyone knows what really happens.
Like any age gate, enforcing the age restriction isn't important, it's about making an effort to say "we put in an age gate, we've complied with the law". Likewise, the law requiring an age gate is arse covering for the politicians so they can say "we've made all these sites put in an age gate... we're doing Something(TM), re-elect Shonkey McShonkface for governor" and the "think of the Children" crowd get a warm fuzzy feeling about all the children they're protecting.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
WhatsApp runs on mobile platforms. And it depends on you having a mobile phone number, so they can figure out who you are. They might not be able to read your messages. But if they link a device to a person under 16, that's all they need to know to drop you.
At one point, someone wrote an unauthorized port of WhatsApp. They detected it and blocked those users. So they can find you and stop you if so motivated. Since they are releasing enterprise tools for the app, they can easily be pressured to conform to rules and regulations of jurisdictions they want to do business in.
Have gnu, will travel.
also, if the kids parent comes in and says he wasn't allowed to buy the candy , the store probably is required by law to take it back ( although they could probably keep the money as damages). The point being ANY transaction with a minor is very much and the merchants own risk because a minor DOES NOT have legal control of themselves or any of their property. So unless they see mom and dad are their and see them hand the kid the money there is probably a risk. It gets even dicier if a 10+ year old is sent to the corner store with mom's pin to pick something up ( as happens all the time). Mom / Dad can easily show up at the store and say the kid didn't have permission and expect visa etc to act like they would with any other (unauthorized transaction) of coarse the catch is their kid may wind up charged with theft in juvenile court if they do.
âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
I mean , how do you remotely verify age. take a selfie and picture of your drivers license. I guess that would be a start, that would at least prove there was someone with a drivers license, your registered name and that looks something like you ( assuming you could access DMV records) . Still talk about a privacy nightmare. Maybe some kind of third party verifier would be better.
âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
"You can not enter a contract with a minor as a business "
Sure you can, groceries, the ice-creme-man and other shops do it all the time.
You cannot _enforce_ the contract when the parents object to the purchase.
UK is adopting 13 as age of consent in Data Protection Bill.
I think this is just WhatsApp not wanting to deal with underage issues - e.g. bullying / adult content. This has absolutely nothing to do with Data Protection.
Buying a candy bar is not a contract.