Facebook mulls allowing pre-teen users

Ready to get friend requests from preteens on Facebook —legitimately, that is?

 

Facebook is working on technology that will let children younger than 13 use it, although under parental supervision, The Wall Street Journal reported.

 

WSJ quoted people who talked with Facebook executives about the technology as saying Facebook is mulling "controls" like connecting children's accounts to those of their parents.

 

Under this setup, parents can decide whom their kids can "friend" and what applications they can use, the report said.

 

While Facebook bans users under 13, many children lie about their ages to get accounts, the report said.

 

On the other hand, the people were quoted as saying Facebook and its partners to charge parents for games and other entertainment accessed by their children.

 

The report said formally opening the site to children would allow Facebook and its partners to target a fast-growing market for children's games dominated by Apple and Google's smartphone platforms.

 

Facebook, concerned about the risks from children already using the service despite its rules, believes it has little choice but to formalize children's presence on the site.

 

Hard to enforce age restrictions

 

WSJ quoted Facebook as saying recent reports "have highlighted just how difficult it is to enforce age restrictions on the Internet, especially when parents want their children to access online content and services."

 

"We are in continuous dialogue with stakeholders, regulators and other policy makers about how best to help parents keep their kids safe in an evolving online environment," it added.

 

But the WSJ report said Facebook is under pressure to prevent children from lying to get accounts.

 

Last year, Consumer Reports said 7.5 million children under the age of 13 were using the site, including more than five million under age 10.

 

High-profile cases of so-called cyberbullying have added to the concern as Facebook claims to have some 900 million users worldwide.

 

WSJ also cited a study sponsored by Microsoft Research released last fall, which found 36 percent of parents were aware that their children joined Facebook before age 13 and that a substantial percentage of those parents helped their kids in the effort.

 

On the other hand, Facebook agreed in November to a 20-year settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over accusations that it misled users about its use of their personal information.

 

Facebook had acknowledged making mistakes and agreed to regular privacy audits.

 

Alternatives to unauthorized use

 

Facebook has been seeking alternatives to continued unauthorized use of its site by children.

 

Over the past year, it has been developing ways to enable them to become legitimate users monitored by their parents, people who have spoken to Facebook executives said.

 

It quoted the people as saying the company inquired last summer with identity-verification providers about how to get verifiable consent from parents of children who want to use Facebook.

 

"Facebook isn't working on a separate kids-only site, but rather, is developing buffers and parental controls that would let kids use the current site legitimately," it said.

 

"We would like to see Facebook create a safe space for kids to [use the site], a sanctuary, with the extra protections needed to ensure a safe, healthy, and age appropriate environment," Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said.

 

But other child advocates opposed the idea, saying that Facebook should instead focus on explaining to parents and children that the site isn't appropriate for use by children under 13.

 

"We don't have the proper science and social research to evaluate the potential pros and cons that social-media platforms are doing to teenagers," said James Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media, a child-advocacy group based in San Francisco.

 

Kid-focused companies

 

WSJ said Facebook has had discussions with kid-focused entertainment companies, including Walt Disney Co., about allowing children onto the social network.

 

Complicating Facebook's effort is a pending review by the Federal Trade Commission of the implementation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, which regulates what personal information websites can collect from children.

 

Facebook recently said some of its $650,000 in first-quarter lobbying spending concerned the Coppa review.

 

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said at a public forum a year ago that he believed that children under 13 should be allowed to use Facebook.

 

"That will be a fight we take on at some point," he was quoted as saying in news reports. — TJD, GMA News