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Facebook considers lowering Official Age Limit

binny
5 June 2012
Reading Time: One Minute

Facebook are considering to allow children under age 13 to open accounts on the social network.

The current official Facebook policy bans accounts opened by less than 13 years old children. However, it is estimated that about 7.5 million Facebook users are under that age, and that many of them are even less than 10 years old. Most of the young Facebook users have received their parents’ approval for their social media activity.

Wall Street Journal has revealed that Facebook are developing technology that would allow younger children to use the social network under parental supervision, and by that it reawaken the topic of online privacy and security. Facebook are exploring ways to connect the children’s accounts with their parents’ accounts and allow the responsible adults to supervise the youngsters’ social activity online, including accept and reject friends’ requests and monitor the usage of various applications.

Since Facebook somehow disappointing IPO, the world’s largest network is under constant pressure to increase its revenues. Lowering the current limit age would draw a new audience, which is expected to be enthusiastically welcomed by advertisers and game developers. At the same time, Facebook will have to face regulators’ audits and angry parents.