Facebook’s plan to stop kids handing over personal info is a complete joke
FACEBOOK has a plan to stop kids illegally handing over their personal info online – and it's a bit rubbish.
The social network needs to better protect children to comply with new EU laws, which prohibit the collection of certain types of data from children.
Right now, only minors over the age over 13 are technically allowed on Facebook – although the company has no way of checking this.
Facebook currently lets youngsters aged between 13 and 15 (and potentially even younger) upload all manner of personal details
These can include highly sensitive info like their political views and details about their sexuality.
Brands can use this info to target them with laser-focused ads.
But from May 25, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation means Facebook will need parental permission to hoover up certain data on children.
Affected features include "seeing ads based on data from partners, and including religious and political views or 'interested in' on your profile", according to Facebook.
"These teens will see a less personalised version of Facebook with restricted sharing and less relevant ads until they get permission from a parent or guardian to use all aspects of Facebook," the company explains.
"Even where the law doesn't require this, we'll ask every teen if they want to see ads based on data from partners and whether they want to include personal information on their profile."
So Facebook claims it will make sure it gets parental permission for kids on the site.
But the company has no real way of verifying whether the people giving permission are actually parents or guardians.
Users simply select one of their Facebook friends or enter an email address for their "parent".
That chosen "parent" then gives permission for their "child" to share sensitive information.
Facebook is then blindly accepting that this person was their parent.
But a child could simply choose one of their friends – or even a fake email address – to verify them.
That means they could easily get access to the full version of Facebook and hand over sensitive data.
This would mean Facebook would potentially be breaching the EU's GDPR law by collecting sensitive info on kids without proper parental permission.
Facebook also has no way of actually making sure that children under the age of 13 are accessing the social media site either.
Anyone can sign up to Facebook, and there are no proper age checks beyond simply entering a date of birth – which can be faked.
Speaking to The Sun, an NSPCC spokesperson said: "It's concerning if Facebook's data policy means children and teenagers could be sharing personal information without understanding what could happen to it or who can use it.
"It's yet another reason why we need the Government to bring in a mandatory code for social networks and force them to protect children, including automatic Safe Accounts for young people with high privacy settings as default, and clear and understandable terms and conditions."
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It's the latest gaffe in a series of privacy blunders that began in March, when it emerged that Facebook had given away the personal info of 87million users without their permission.
And only yesterday, The Sun reported on a whistleblower who revealed that the number of affected users could be "much greater".
Next week, a top Facebook official is due to testify before MPs at the DCMS Committee in the UK.
MPs originally requested billionaire Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg's attendance, but he snubbed the invite.
We've asked Facebook for comment on this story and will update the article with any response.
What do you think of Facebook's sloppy bid to help protect your children? Let us know in the comments!
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