Whatsapp is now following the likes of their mother company Facebook with plans to introduce an age restriction for users. Whatsapp is going to be bringing up the age of registration from the current 13 years to 16. That means if you’re under 16 years old, you can no longer technically use Whatsapp.
The new rules have caused a storm but have become necessary with new EU privacy laws aimed at curtailing the amount of data social networks collect on children.
We don’t personally think this will work (like we have seen with Facebook) as all you have to do is tick a box agreeing that you are of age.
“If you live in a country in the European Region (EU), you must be at least 16 years old to use our Services or such greater age required in your country to register for or use our Services,” specifies WhatsApp in its updated Terms of Service policy.
The legislation says that the requirement applies to under 16s, although some countries will not be affected, like the UK. This new legislation will be implemented as of May 25th.
Snapchat also recently made headlines by announcing that they will no longer track the location of users aged 13 to 15, in order to comply with upcoming EU data privacy rules.
Do you think social applications should be restricted to over 16s because of big data concerns? Tell us in the comments below.
