JOSÉ SENA GOULÃO/LUSA
PSD parliamentary leader, Hugo Soares.
For social democrats, only with parental consent should younger people be on some platforms.
Following what is happening in other countries, the PSD he wants restrict access to social networks to the youngest, in Portugal.
The bill will be presented next Monday, in the Assembly of the Republic: whoever has under 16 years old You will only be able to access social networks and other platforms if there is parental consent.
The explains what the PSD idea is: when creating the account, the user’s age must be confirmed by a verification mechanism, through the Digital Mobile Key.
This functionality does not yet exist, it would have to be created. It would be a mechanism that would only confirm the user’s age, including in online games and betting and “content providers with age restrictions”. Other personal data is not transferred to the platforms.
If the child enters the platform with parental consent, the platforms must prevent the digital addiction of these users, the addiction.
Examples: anyone under the age of 16 cannot have access to automatic reproduction of content, scroll infinite, techniques characteristic of video games to prolong the use of the social network, sending “non-essential, especially at night” notifications, systems for creating fake images or videos, or “reward boxes or equivalent mechanisms”.
The profiles of minors under 16 years of age cannot be searchable. Accounts are private, algorithms must not create addictive recommendations and limit themselves to “appropriate content” for the users in question. Minors’ accounts also do not appear in social metrics.
The PSD parliamentary group has been talking to the Government and ARTE – Agency for State Technological Reform, to find a system that is “as reliable as possible”.
It’s a question of State accountabilityaccording to Hugo Soares: “It’s time for the legislator to face the problem head on. We have to assume our responsibility and not leave our children and young people unprotected in the digital environment”, declared the deputy, in Público.
Os 16 years old becomes the “minimum digital age”in accordance with the bill presented by the Social Democrats.
The same proposal wants effectuate the prohibition of access to social networks by under 13 years old.
In fact, this rule already exists. But it has been manageable, it has not been verified by the platforms – which would then be responsible for protecting children.
Fora of these changes is WhatsApp: It is a very common form of communication between parents and children.
