The Government of Flanders demands that technological platforms prevent children under 13 from creating accounts on social networks, citing risks to child health and safety. The measure includes fines for companies that do not comply with the standard.
The Flanders region, in the northern half of Belgium, will require technology platforms to prevent children under 13 from creating accounts on social media, considering that they are harmful to their health, the Government announced on Friday.
“Flanders is no longer sitting idly by. We have clearly set a legal limit of 13 years and indicated that technology giants must also respect our standards,” the Flemish government’s head of Social Communication, Cieltje Van Achter, told the broadcaster
The age limit already exists in theory, but it is easy to get around it and statistics presented by the regional government indicate that children “have an account at ten years and three months”therefore the Executive will enforce the rule by means of decree.
“The European Commission has already determined that TikTok’s ‘design’ is very addictive,” added Van Achter, adding that, on Snapchat, Brussels also claims that “too many images of a sexual nature and violent videos are circulated, and that illegal electronic cigarettes are sold.”
To implement the measure, public authorities in Flanders will draw up a list of social networks considered harmfulwho will be required to have effective age verification.
If they fail to do so, technology companies could face finessimilar to community regulations.
“Social networks must be safer for everyone. The big technology companies have turned a blind eye for too long. We no longer tolerate that. Either they comply with the rules of our market and protect our children, or they stay out”, maintained the Flemish nationalist minister.
