The Meta group paradoxically advocates legislation placing the downloading of an application by a teenager under the control of parents.
Meta is Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp… Some of the most downloaded applications around the world. So when the group chaired by Mark Zuckerberg gives its opinion on how the downloading of applications should be regulated, it is obvious that the public is listening.
And what the group is proposing could well surprise those who are used to seeing GAFAM rail against regulations. Meta would like a law in the United States allowing parents to control what their children download!
Putting the onus on parents rather than providers
Why would Meta want a new regulatory law on applications? Well, it seems, to escape the critic. The group is in fact increasingly attacked on the negative effects of social networks, such as Instagram, on the mental health of children, and on the use of these same networks by sexual predators.
Meta wants, in response, the creation of a law in the United States which would allow parents to validate or not the downloading of an application of a teenager under 16 years old. A way of shifting the responsibility to others.
“ With this solution, when a teenager wants to download an app, app stores would be required to notify parents, in the same way that parents are notified when their child attempts to make a purchase »Promotes the global head of security at Meta Antigone Davis.
Simpler legislation for Meta
Parents will then be able to decide whether or not to validate this download, adds the promoter of the idea in a blog post. “ We support federal legislation that requires app stores to obtain parental consent when their teens under 16 download apps » she sums up.
The idea of federal legislation is important here. Because rules introducing this type of parental obligation are already beginning to be enacted at the state level of the country. If the trend continues, a group like Meta would quickly see the legal environment in which it operates become more complex.
“ As an industry, we should work with lawmakers to create simple and effective ways for parents to supervise their teens’ online experiences » says Antigone Davis. Will Congress follow?
Source : BBC, Medium
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