Facebook Plans To Allow The Under 13 Crowd Under Parental Restrictions

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Facebook wants to allow kids under 13 on Facebook….with certain restrictions. The company’s new move is currently in the testing phase. They want to allow tweens and kids sign under their parents, who in turn keep tabs on their kids activities, limit friendships, and generally monitor their child’s social life on Facebook. Here is what The Wall Street Journal recently reported on Monday morning:

Mechanisms being tested include connecting children’s accounts to their parents’ and controls that would allow parents to decide whom their kids can “friend” and what applications they can use, people who have spoken with Facebook executives about the technology said. The under-13 features could enable Facebook and its partners to charge parents for games and other entertainment accessed by their children, the people said.

Right now Facebook still operates under the COPPA act(Children’s Online Privacy Act Protection Act, so restrictions for the young set is still considered crucial. Unfortunately, many kids(sometimes with the help of their parents) have the savvy know-how to get around the rules. There was a recent study from Microsoft Research sometime last year that thirty-si patents admitted to aiding their under-13 kids in the signup process.

Facebook’s move to allow the under-13 set to join probably won’t entice parents who are concerned with their child’s safety but it might increase tween use by a small margin. What do you think of his news? Does it affect you and your family?

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