Those under the age of 16 will not be able to register on social networks. The deadline set so far was 14 years, but the Spanish Government has approved a bill that will increase the minimum age to be able to use social networks such as TikTok or Instagram by two years.

14 to 16 years old. Future legislation will raise the minimum age at which processing of personal data may be permitted from 14 to 16. That is, until a user is 16 years old, he will not be able to consent to the use of his data by a social network. This would force major social networks to raise the minimum usage age to avoid conflict with the law. Children under the age of 16 require the consent of their legal guardians to register.

There is no common age for all of Europe. The General Data Protection Regulation allows each country to set a minimum age of consent. In Spain it was 14 years, in France it was 15 years, for example. According to the GDPR the legal scale is 13 to 16 years old but there is no set age. According to the government, 10 other countries in the European Union have set the minimum age at 16.

The government stated that they want this law to initiate a discussion in the European Union to standardize the minimum age in all countries.

For social networks, the situation is a complete mess. The goal of social networks is to attract the maximum number of users, but logically they also try to comply with the law. Each social network sets its own minimum age, usually 13, which is the minimum age set by the General Data Protection Regulation.

However, the lack of a common age in all countries causes many differences. Some networks, like YouTube, set the minimum age by country, while others, like X or TikTok, set it broadly at 13. These differences mean that different social networks must check age verification and change the minimum filters in each country.

They are being warned. On March 4, the Head of Government met with leading technology companies and warned them that they would implement these measures to protect minors. They were asked to cooperate with his application.

Default parental control on mobile phones. In addition to raising the minimum age, the legislation, which must also receive support from Congress and the Senate, would require parental control on mobile devices to be enabled by default and have labels informing them about their risks. Also with effective age verification. Once it is verified that the user using it is old enough, they can disable this function.

Reminding that children get their first mobile phone at the age of 11 and that 98% of adolescents are in relationships with others, Minister of the Presidency Félix Bolaños said, “The health and well-being of children and young people are at risk.” social networks.

And 18 years for ‘loot boxes’. The minimum age for data processing and registration will be 16, but for social networks or games offering paid rewards the minimum age will be 18. This law is a measure to prevent minors from accessing ‘loot boxes’, which is a term that comes from afar.

Image | Daria Nepriakhina

in Xataka | Pay attention to what your child does on social networks, parents can be fined up to 10 thousand euros