Kids And Social Media: Who Is Responsible For Policing The Age Restriction? | HuffPost Life

Should this be down to parents, the government or social media companies?

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Life editor at HuffPost UK

It’s no secret that despite social media platforms stating kids under 13 can’t sign up, they are still creating profiles. In November 2017, a study from regulator Ofcom found underage access was “on the rise” and half of 11-12-year-olds have a social media profile.

So whose responsibility is it to reduce the number of children signing up to social media before they reach their teenage years? Should the government intervene or should companies like Snapchat and Facebook be doing more to ensure kids can’t sign up? Or is it down to parents to make sure their children don’t have access?

What’s perhaps surprising, is that no one is shirking responsibility. When we asked parents, the government and social media networks, they all said the liability should be shared.

The majority (80%) of parents of six-to 16-year-olds believe mums and dads have a ‘high level’ of responsibility for keeping their children safe online, according to a survey of 2,000 parents by nonprofit organisation Internet Matters. More than half (61%) thought this responsibility extends to social media companies too and almost 50% believed app creators and internet service providers are also responsible. “Collectively, we all have a responsibility to help children navigate the digital world both safely and smartly - this includes making sure age-restrictions are adhered to,” said Carolyn Bunting, CEO of Internet Matters.

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Half of 11-12-year-olds have a social media profile, (stock image).

Siobhan Freegard, founder of ChannelMum.com agreed, adding: “Keeping kids safe is everyone’s responsibility. Whether it’s playing in the park or socialising on social media, we have a collective duty to ensure children are protected.”

We contacted three major social media companies - Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat - to ask what they do to enforce the age restrictions. Snapchat said all new users are required to provide an age when they register. If they become aware that a user is under the age of 13, they will terminate their account. They said they use the “best available technology” to prevent under 13s from registering and ensure their app isn’t available in the “kids” or “family” sections of the app store.

Facebook told us that if an under-age user is reported, they remove their account and use cookies to prevent people who have said they are under 13 from signing up again. They also referred us to their parent portal, which includes guides for parents about how Facebook works and they added that there are enhanced privacy settings for users aged between 13-17 years old, which means their posts are limited to default “friends only” sharing.

In a similar vein, Instagram said if an underage user is reported, they remove the account. If someone sees an account they think is run by someone under the age of 13, they are encouraged to report this via a form on the Help Centre. However, they do allow under-13s to have accounts managed by an adult – e.g a parent or manager.

Despite these precautions being taken, some argue that social media companies should still be doing more to combat underage sign-ups. “A tick box to say you’re the right age simply isn’t enough,” said Freegard. “Social media companies are under scrutiny for data handling and need to enforce age restrictions much more rigidly as part of this.”

Andy Burrows, NSPCC’s associate head of child safety online, also said there is more social networks should do to make their sites safer for children and ensure that young users are not being exposed to inappropriate or dangerous content, including making age restrictions much clearer on sign-up pages, and building child safety measures into site design from the start.

“A tick box to say you’re the right age simply isn’t enough. Social media companies are under scrutiny for data handling and need to enforce age restrictions much more rigidly as part of this."”
- Siobhan Freegard, founder of ChannelMum.com

Given that more than half of 12-year-olds already have a social media account, Burrows said there’s an urgent need to make these sites as safe as possible, which ultimately means it’s not only down to the social media platforms themselves: “That’s why we want the government to enforce a mandatory social network code, backed by a regulator, with a set of child safety measures that all social networks must have in place,” he said.

In response to these comments a Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) spokesperson said: “Social media companies have a duty to make their platforms safer, including taking a stronger role in closing down underage accounts. Through our Internet Safety Strategy, we are working closely with the industry to encourage solutions that will increase online safety in the UK, but haven’t ruled out further regulation if significant progress is not made.”

It is clear that no one believes parents should be doing this alone, however, they do have a part to play in ensuring their kids aren’t signing up to these networks underage. “Parents can help keep their children safe online by ensuring they are familiar with the age restrictions on the apps their children want to use and by also having open, honest and regular conversations about the online world and allowing them to think critically about why those age-restrictions may apply,” said Bunting.

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Parents should be making conversations about social media part of everyday life, advises Andy Burrows, NSPCC’s associate head of child safety online, (stock image.

Burrows said he also believes parents should be “making these conversations part of everyday life” in the same way you would ask about your child’s day at school, adding that the NSPCC and 02’s Net Aware tool can give parents practical tips on the different apps and sites that children use.

Freegard said mums and dads should educate their child on sensible use, the dangers of social media and giving information away to strangers. “Sure it’s tough to police and your kids may not thank you for it - but it’s better than your child being harmed by inappropriate use,” she said.

She also argued that education should continue at school: “Most schools are already doing an excellent job with safer internet use policies and restricting the use of phones on school property. Finally, we also need a shift in our thinking in wider society. Lets see social media as a helpful tool for our lives, but get back to real-life interactions being equally as valuable. Social media should lead to social meet-ups and then we’d feel happier all-round.”

How do you talk to your kids about social media use? Let us know by emailing ukparents@huffpost.com.

Before You Go

11 Women Who Made A Difference Using Social Media

Mavis Mendonca Smith(01 of10)

An incident of a six-year-old raped at an Indian private school in Bengaluru last year shocked the country. In retaliation, Mavis Mendonca Smith who has lived in the city all her life, started Win Bangalore Back (on Facebook) with a few friends. The group aimed at bringing vital issues to the forefront, and ensure necessary action was being taken to keep the city and its residents safe particularly women. In just a few days, the group gained 20,000 members (it stands today at over 25,000 members). Smith along with other co-founders went on to organise a demonstration – Red Brigade – where 2000 people showed up to fight for women’s rights against violence. The group has established a strong relationship with Bengaluru’s police commissioner’s office, and works as a platform where women can (and do) report harassment incidents. (credit:Uday Shanker)

Masih Alinejad (02 of10)

An Iranian journalist, Masih Alinejad started the My Stealthy Freedom campaign in 2014, in an attempt to free Iranian women forcibly being made to wear a head covering, and instead leave the decision up to them. Alinejad, who grew up in Iran was coerced into wearing a hijab at the age of seven. She even revealed that a few years ago, she was almost attacked while reporting from the Parliament, because of a few spare strands of hair that escaped her cover. The New York-based journalist posted a photo of herself without her hijab, and asked other women to share their own “moments of stealthy freedom”. Hundreds of photos of women with uncovered hair poured in from Iran and across the world, Alinejad created a Facebook page dedicated to these women who had risked their lives and reputations. The page currently boasts 777,759 likes. Alinejad is currently reporting on Iranian politics and is an avid supporter on women’s rights and equality. This year, her efforts were inaugurated with The Women’s Rights Award at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. (credit:Amy Lombard)

Kalki Subramaniam(03 of10)

The first transgender woman to star in a major film in 2011, Tamilian actress, writer, filmmaker Kalki Subramaniam has established a strong transgender rights community with a global reach.In spite of being a common target for bullies in school, Subramaniam went on to earn two master's degrees, and encourages transgender students to stay in school through her organisation, Sahodari Foundation, that supports transgender education. She also employs Facebook to find employment opportunities for educated and qualified transgender people, and helps create workplaces where transgender employees feel safe and accepted. (credit:Deva)

Annie Clark and Andrea Pino(04 of10)

In 2009 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Annie Clark started a blind reporting box system for rape survivors after being assaulted. Three years later, Andrea Pino used the same system to report her own attack. The duo connected on Facebook, and realised that rape in universities were more common than perceived. After filing a federal complaint against the university, they used Facebook to provide support and resources to several other women in colleges, and eventually founded End Rape On Campus as an organised online forum that operates out of California. (credit:Annie Clark)

Gioia Gottini (05 of10)

After struggling to establish her own profession, Gioia Gottini realised how hard it was for women in Italy to start their own companies. In March 2013, the career coach reached out to self-made female entrepreneurs in Turin through Facebook. Gottini used the group to set up monthly meetings and daily online support for women. Last year, she was invited to speak about her efforts at a TedXWomen talk, after which she expanded the group to other Italian cities. Today this organisation is collectively known as Rete al Femminile: it features 30 groups across Italy that helped several women start their own ventures to achieve financial independence. (credit:Daniela Foresto)

Shoana Solomon(06 of10)

Last year, after observing how Ebola-induced panic was leading to a bias against Africans in the US, Shoana Solomon started a movement to fight the discrimination. A student teased the Liberian-American entrepreneur’s nine-year-old daughter on her first day of school (Solomon’s family had recently relocated from Monrovia, Liberia to Delaware), saying she was carrying a disease. Solomon realised that this was only a small example of judgments that others were facing. After viewing a Facebook post that talked about doing something to disperse such opinions, Solomon along with three Liberian women started a campaign #IAmALiberianNotAVirus. What started simply as a photo with a signboard quickly became one of the top 15 campaigns in 2014. Eventually a Facebook page was formed to share the campaign’s impact that not only helped disperse some of the stereotypes, but also brought a community together during a hard time. (credit:Shoana Solomon)

Samantha Cristoforetti(07 of10)

For those women looking to enter the largely male-dominated profession of astronauts, Samantha Cristoforetti’s Facebook page is well worth a visit: this Italian flight engineer – the first Italian woman in space, she orbits around the Earth every 92 minutes! And she shares her experiences on Facebook to motivate more women to join the field. In 2009, Cristoforetti was one of the six people chosen out of 8,000 applicants to join the European Space Agency as an astronaut, after which she spent five rigorous years training across the world to finally launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Cristoforetti, who is aboard the International Space Station till May, this year aims to make her experience more relatable to women across the world by telling them how ‘normal’ it can be. She is conducting science and technology research in weightlessness as part of her mission, which she calls 'Futura' to honour the pursuit of building a future in space for human beings. (credit:European Space Agency )

Mayumi Taniguchi (08 of10)

An associate professor at Osaka International University for international law on women’s rights and gender law, Mayumi Taniguchi is also the founder of All Japan Obachan Party, a group advocating for more women in Japanese government and other gender equality causes. Two years ago, Taniguchi wrote a Facebook post about ‘old men’ dominating Japanese politics, and received an incredible response. Frustrated by the lack of women in major political positions in the country, and spurred by the likes, she created a Facebook group for her unofficial political party, the All Japan Obachan Party. The word ‘obachan’ is used to refer to middle-aged or elderly women in a derogatory way, and Taniguchi decided to spin a twist to it to empower women’s voices in Japanese politics. Though her campaign was not taken seriously at the start, today it has developed into a full-fledged initiative for women to share their political opinions (something Japanese women are not generally encouraged to do) with close to 5,000 members. Local meetings are held to check women’s representation across districts and candidates are questioned on key women’s issues. Taniguchi will also participate in the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York, and plans to organise an international conference to be held next year with other members from her group. (credit:Koichi Miyase)

Carol Rossetti(09 of10)

Over 200,000 people subscribe to Carol Rossetti’s Facebook page to view her illustrations (in Portuguese, Spanish and English) of issues faced by women across the globe. Rossetti who would post one drawing on Facebook every day to attract work was appalled, last year, by plus-size women being shamed for their bodies in Brazil. The 26-year-old from Belo Horizonte then created a character called Marina to spread the message of “wearing what you feel like to feel comfortable in your own body.” After putting up several gender-focused sketches, her project ‘Women’ was born. Rossetti’s work showcases real-life stories of women, and continues to be inspired by people visiting her page to view a drawing they can relate to. This year, the illustrator shall be publishing a book of her works, also titled ‘Women’. (credit:Pedro Nicoli)

Sukki Singapora(10 of10)

Earlier this year, Sukki Singapora became the first woman to legally perform burlesque in Singapore following the success of her Facebook page, The Singapore Burlesque Society.Singapora who hails from East Singapore started out with ballet as a child, but fell in love with burlesque only to be dismayed that this form of dance was banned in her home country. She shifted to London to pursue her passion, and eventually landed a job at a local comedy club where she gave herself the name ‘Singapura’. After receiving questions from women, particularly ones based out of Singapore, on burlesque, she created a closed group on FB. The group allowed women to openly discuss burlesque, how it made them feel and gave them more confidence to express themselves and control their own bodies better. Eventually, Sukki used Facebook to reach out to politicians of Singapore – This year in February; the ban was successfully lifted after four years of Sukki’s efforts.The burlesque dancer is also an ambassador for the Sharan Project, and supports South Asian women through domestic issues. Her own page has approximately 24,000 likes. (credit:Rachel Sherlock)

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