Do more to keep out under-13s, minister orders social networks

WEB giants including Facebook and Twitter should do more to stop under-13s using their platforms instead of passing the buck to parents, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last night.

The minister said his 12-year-old daughter was not yet on social media, but that it ‘infuriates’ him that tech firms made it so easy for children – who are still getting ‘comfortable’ with themselves.

Instead of using technology to restrict access, companies leave it up to parents to police their offspring online, Mr Hancock said.

‘Social media companies say their products shouldn’t be used by under-13s and it infuriates me that they make it very easy for under-13s to use them and don’t do anything to stop them, leaving it all down to parents.’

Mr Hancock did not single out any social media giants, but Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all say users must be 13 to use their websites.

But their checks are so lax that younger children are signing up in their millions.

The web giants do not demand any proof of age. Instead they simply ask users to enter their birth date, which can be easily faked.

Asked whether any of his three children were active on social media yet, Mr Hancock said: ‘No. My daughter is the eldest, she’s 12.’

In the interview with Grazia magazine, Mr Hancock also warned that the ready access to social media had made growing up and parenting much harder.

‘This is one of the hardest times to be growing up,’ he said. ‘It’s a very hard time to be a parent, too, because of the amount of pressures that impact on young people.

‘Everybody goes through a period of becoming comfortable with themselves; that’s part of growing up. It was hard in the old world of simple communications, but in this new world it’s harder.’

Twitter said its services were not directed at children. Facebook, which owns Instagram, declined to comment.