You may be forgiven for believing that ALL countries are moving to restrict minors from social media accounts. The old practice of letting 13 year olds have social media accounts has been restricted by several countries. Australia, Malaysia, and Spain require a minimum age of 16, and other countries are considering age restrictions. Several U.S. states require parental consent for people under 16; Tennessee, Texas, and Utah additionally require parental consent for 16 and 17 year olds.
But one country is not falling in line: France.
“France’s Constitutional Council has declared that legislation limiting social media to kids under 15 constitutes ‘a disproportionate infringement of freedom of expression and communication and, on the other hand, have not provided the legal safeguards necessary to ensure the right to respect for private life.’”
This non is significant because the European Union countries have similar legal systems, and other EU countries might cite the French decision as precedent to prohibit age restrictions.
Then again, other EU countries may cite Spain as a precedent to impose age restrictions.
With 200 countries give or take, plus over 50 U.S. states and territories and other independent country jurisdictions that make their own decisions on such matters, the question of the minimum age to create a social media account becomes very convoluted.
Imagine writing Facebook’s official policy that lists, by country / state / province, how minors can (or cannot) obtain social media accounts.
If your company needs a similar document, talk to Bredemarket.
Bredemarket 