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Quite a few years ago, the US passed COPPA, which imposes quite strict regulations on sites that collect information from children under 13. The end result was that many sites banned users under 13 years old. This isn't really that big of a problem; it could be argued that there are few sites not specifically designed for children that children this age have any reason to use.

When the European Union passed the GDPR, they included a provision that children cannot consent to data collection, and allowed member states to set the age of consent anywhere from 13 to 16. At least some picked 16. Why? Did they not expect the same thing that happened to children under 13 in the US with COPPA to happen to children and teens under 16 in the EU? The argument that most sites not specifically targeting children are not relevant to them is much weaker when "children" are defined as anyone under 16 rather than 13.

Did they somehow not expect this to happen, or did they determine that protecting the privacy of teens 13 to 15 is more important than their ability to use the Internet with few limitations?

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    Protecting people often involves restricting them. Look at prison informants, they often get solitary confinement, not because they did anything wrong, but so they don't get killed for snitching. Look at toddlers; we put them in playpens so they can't wander off and get themselves into dangerous situations.
    – Ryan_L
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 4:41
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    @Someone, children are legally minors because they cannot be expected to make reasoned/reasonable decisions for themselves. So any reasoning that involves them reading terms of service is missing the point.
    – o.m.
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 4:49
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    @Someone, there are different ages of consent for different things.
    – o.m.
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 5:01
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    What is perhaps more surprising is that in 2022, anyone still believes that laws can prevent children from accessing whatever websites they want.
    – Obie 2.0
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 6:19
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    These kind of laws may impose additional regulatory burdens on companies, and change the data collection practices of those whose user base must perforce consist of many children, but I doubt that it will prevent any private citizen from doing absolutely anything.
    – Obie 2.0
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 6:22

1 Answer 1

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The various EU members have slightly different national laws. Looking at , you will find different age limits

  • for buying a donut, a beer, or a vodka,
  • for buying something with immediate payment or in installments,
  • for driving a motor scooter, a car, or a heavy motorcycle,
  • for voting in municipal or federal elections (some states),
  • for being liable for damages and being guilty of a crime.

While people can and do quibble about the exact placement of any one limit, the clear pattern is that younger children are more protected from decisions with grave consequences, or with abstract consequences. A minor may be allowed to buy something for €30, but not in 12 "easy" installments of €2.50 each.

The consequences of privacy loss can be abstract, until they happen.

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  • The consequences of privacy loss can be abstract, until they happen. => would be good to elaborate what those "consequences" are supposed to be according to EU officials. Ideally in concrete rather than abstract terms.
    – JonathanReez
    Commented Sep 29, 2022 at 21:11
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    @JonathanReez, depends on which site. Being googled by a prospective employer and the old drunken party selfies showing up. Being profiled. Early on I decided to use my initials and not my full name on this site ...
    – o.m.
    Commented Sep 30, 2022 at 4:43
  • @JonathanReez: Juvenile criminal records are in many jurisdictions automatically sealed and sometimes also automatically expunged, because we assume that mistakes one makes as a kid should not necessarily define ones whole life. (A friend of mine was a prosecutor right out of law school and often remarked that he feels really bad prosecuting young adults for the exact same things he did just 10 years prior and which, had they been prosecuted, would have prevented him from becoming a prosecutor. He was an amazing prosecutor and is an amazing judge and law professor now, by the way.)
    – Jörg W Mittag
    Commented Sep 30, 2022 at 8:47
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    However, Facebook pictures of stupid things you do might live on forever, even though you might not hav understood at 13 years old what the consequences would be. They might prevent you from being hired, for example.
    – Jörg W Mittag
    Commented Sep 30, 2022 at 8:48
  • Is there an age limit for buying a donut in Germany? In the US, anyone could buy one as long as they had the money.
    – Someone
    Commented Oct 1, 2022 at 1:17

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