Should we be surprised that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, thinks kids under 13 should be able to have their own Facebook pages? I’m sure the founder of cigarette companies are only too happy to lower age restrictions on their products too.
You might think that my comparison is quite gratuitous, and I suppose it is, but one cannot properly articulate the damage inflicted on cyber bullied children.
Zuckerberg thinks he can protect these kids:
“My philosophy is that for education, you need to start at a really young age”, said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the New Schools Summit in California, about why he thinks children under the age of 13 should be allowed to be Facebook members. Currently the age restriction requires that one be thirteen years or older to get a Facebook log on ID, but of course it is not difficult to avoid this and create an account anyway. Consumer Reports recently reported that there are about 7.5 million children under the age of 13 on Facebook.
Zuckerberg explained that, in his view, software and technology will help students learn a lot from one another, and that if COPPA were lifted, “we’d start to learn what works. We’d take a lot of precautions to make sure that they [younger children] are safe. “ COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, makes it illegal for web sites to collect information on children under the age of 13.
However, amidst growing concern about online privacy in general, lifting COPPA may be optimistic. Senator John Rockefeller on Thursday question Facebook Chief Technology Officer on Capital Hill saying: “I want you to defend your company here because I don’t know how you can.”
Zuckerberg’s assurances are not in the least bit reassuring. There is no way they can properly ensure the safety of children. And why would they need to, if they only let kids be kids? So they wait until 13 to use Facebook? I’ve said it before. Why would a 12-year old need a Facebook page anyway?
Tags: Age Restrictions, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, COPPA, Education Parenting, facebook, life, Mark Zuckerberg, New Schools Summit, Senator John Rockefeller, social media
Topical Teaching 
May 24, 2011 at 12:10 am |
13 is way too young! way to young if i had kids i wouldn’t let them have one till at least high school! I work with afterschools which is anywhere from 8 to 14! i have more drama with the older kids then the younger. Frankly there not mature enough. He just want’s a bigger socail network. Which is puzzling cause it’s already one of the biggest networks. I know that parent’s watch there kids but you should be watching them when they first get it, I’ve seen 15 year olds with profile picture’s showing more cleavage then there face. Honestly i agree a 12 year old should be going to movies and playing outside not talking to stangers.
July 9, 2012 at 3:25 am |
i’m joined Facebook since i’m 10 years old in August 2010 and i know how to used,it is good thing that Mark against COPPA.
February 6, 2013 at 2:23 am |
Whether you are familiar with Mark Zuckerberg depends to a considerable extent on your age and Internet savvy. The greater the one, the less the other, the more this soon to be iconic name will be unknown… and that, of course, means you’re the oldest of fogies… and must instantly make amends. I intend to make that very easy for you.Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984 in a “Leave It to Beaver” town with the quintessential name of Dobbs Ferry, New York. His life consisted of the very best and most appealing of what suburban life in the Great Republic offers; his father a dentist, his mother (before the birth of her four children), a psychiatrist. His was a loving, close-knit family that valued the most important thing of all: education, and made sure Mark got the best.*
My current blog
<http://www.beautyfashiondigest.com/scabs-on-scalp/