Meta calls for an EU regulation for minors that imposes the same protections in all apps and services

Meta has asked for one European Union regulation (EU) to harmonize European standards on youth safety to ensure that young people can access age-appropriate online experiences and find the same protections in all applications and services.

The technology company, responsible for the social networks Facebook and Instagram and the messaging service WhatsApp, advocates for a new European law that imposes age verification in the app store or in the operating system and that demands parental authorization so that those under 16 years of age can download applications.

With this proposal, the global head of Security in Meta, Antigone Davis, considers that “some clear and consistent standards for all applications, that would train parents and guardians and would work throughout the sector”, as stated in a press release sent to Europa Press.

This petition follows the launch in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia in September of accounts for teenagers on Instagram, that integrate protections that limit who can contact them, the content they see and how much time they spend online, without minors under 16 years of age being able to change the settings without their parents’ permission.

Meta also supports its proposal with data from a survey carried out by Morning Consult -at the request of the technology company-, which collects responses from parents in eight European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Netherlands and Poland ) with at least one child under 18 years of age.

According to the survey, at least three out of four parents support legislation that requires parental authorization for children under 16 to download applications. And they lean towards the app stores instead of individual applications as an easier place to approve app downloads

When asked about the ages below which adolescents should be required to obtain parental approval before downloading applications (under 13, 16 or 18 years of age), the majority stated that Parental approval should be required for adolescents under 16 years of age (instead of under 13 or under 18).