While the push to protect children from the harms of social media gains momentum, experts warn that age verification measures may inadvertently create vulnerabilities by collecting valuable personal information. This article explores the complex debate surrounding child access to social media, examining both the potential benefits and risks.
The greatest risk is that measures to verify age will create honey pots of high-value personal informationhe push to ban children from social media is gathering steam, but it’s an idea as footloose as the eponymous big-haired 1980s musical about the town that outlawed dancing to save the kids from themselves.
In the face of this lived experience, the vow by leaders to protect our children by turning off their access at the source of this danger hits a raw political nerve, as this week’s Guardian Essential report shows. So, while I have sympathy for the motivations behind the prohibition model, I’m no longer convinced banning social media for teenagers is the best way to provide safe online spaces for growing minds.
The truth is that without comprehensive data protection, the idea of forcing everyone – and it would not just be kids but anyone wanting to register for a social media platform – to provide even more information online is reckless folly.
Social Media Children Safety Age Verification Privacy
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