Social media companies could face significant financial penalties if they do not block the accounts of children under 13, according to the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan. Speaking on the eve of the Online Safety Bill's return to parliament, Donelan called for a "zero tolerance" approach to children using social media. The bill grants Ofcom the power to fine companies up to 10% of their global turnover if they fail to implement effective age verification checks. Donelan said the bill could save lives by protecting children from harmful content, including self-harm and pornography. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp owner Meta said it had introduced measures to remove under-13s from its platforms, while Snapchat blocks tens of thousands of sign-up attempts every month.
What is this page?
You are reading a summary article on the Privacy Newsfeed, a free resource for DPOs and other professionals with privacy or data protection responsibilities helping them stay informed of industry news all in one place. The information here is a brief snippet relating to a single piece of original content or several articles about a common topic or thread. The main contributor is listed in the top left-hand corner, just beneath the article title.
The Privacy Newsfeed monitors over 300 global publications, of which more than 5,750 summary articles have been posted to the online archive dating back to the beginning of 2020. A weekly roundup is available by email every Friday.
