Anger at Meta for easing Whatsapp age limit

THE social media giant behind Whatsapp was accused of being “tone deaf ” after it lowered the minimum age for the app in Britain from 16 to 13.

MPS, campaign groups and teachers criticised the change by Meta, while a parent-backed campaign demanded the American company reverses course.

Smartphone Free Childhood, a campaign group, has signed up 60,000 parents who oppose the move, designed to bring the age requirement in line with other countries.

Daisy Greenwell, the campaign’s co-founder, said: “Whatsapp are putting shareholder profits first and children’s safety second. Reducing their age of use from 16 to 13 years old is completely tone deaf and ignores the increasingly loud alarm bells being rung by scientists, doctors, teachers, child safety experts, parents and mental health experts alike.

“This policy boosts their user figures and maximises shareholder profits at the expense of children’s safety.”

Teachers backing the campaign criticised the move on the grounds that Whatsapp can be used in schools for almost invisible bullying.

Mike Baxter, head of the City of London Academy in south London, said messages shared on the app in the middle of the night was “not conducive for any 12 or 13-year-old to sleep well”. Vicky Ford, a Tory member of the Commons Education committee, told The Times: “Social media can be very damaging for young people. Whatsapp, because it’s end-to-end encrypted, is potentially even more dangerous, as illegal content cannot be easily removed.

“So for Meta to unilaterally decide to reduce the age recommendation for Whatsapp, without listening to affected parents, seems to me to be highly irresponsible.”

It comes after a poll of parents by the charity Parent-kind found that 80 per cent believe social media age limits are too low. Meta was approached for comment.