Facebook says no to child protection call Internet giant’s astonishing rebuke to our minister
Seeking safeguards for under-13s
FACEBOOK has shot down a Government minister’s initiative to provide greater protection for children vulnerable to online targeting by paedophiles and bullies.
Mental Health Minister Jim Daly met the social media giant to outline plans to help prevent those under 13 years of age being open to target.
However, Facebook, which is at the centre of claims that its data was used to target voters, turned down his proposals.
The minister’s call came amid growing alarm at the dangers of online bullying and child porn, and how children are accessing them via their smartphones. Numerous parents, school principals and child safety experts have raised concerns about how social media is affecting the mental health of children.
According to documents released under Freedom of Information rules, the minister wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last December seeking support for stricter controls on registering for accounts, through an ‘online verification code’. The company then met him and his special adviser at their Dublin headquarters last month.
Facebook staff present were head of data protection, head of content policy, and the ‘counsel, content and regulatory’.
They said they would not be introducing any new measures to authenticate accounts when they are being opened. Minutes of the meeting show how Mr Daly said his main concern was not with what Facebook users do but with the registration process. Notes of the meeting read: ‘[He] questioned how Facebook ensures a profile user is the required age of 13 years, and is their user name definitely matching their real name as per Facebook policy.’
In one startling admission, when the minister asked, ‘Can I open a Facebook profile with an unknown email address or phone number and a false date of birth?’, the answer was, ‘Yes you can.’ Facebook said it takes down profiles reported to them, many from teachers about underage users.
The notes read: ‘Minister pressed would Facebook be opposed to strengthening authentication process seeing as it is Facebook policy to use a real name and be 13 years old … if the state were to assist Facebook and others with an online verification code.
‘Facebook said they would have concerns around data protection and they said users should not be forced to enter another field of info to open an account.’
The minister’s spokesman said he has since written to Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon about online verification.
Yesterday, Cliodha O’Neill of the ISPCA said self-regulation by Facebook and other social media companies is ‘not enough’ and new laws are needed.