Minimum Age?: Facebook, Instagram to crack down on users under 13

Facebook and Instagram are popular with all ages, from kids to senior citizens.

Except children under a certain age aren't supposed to be using either.

Say what? You didn't know Facebook and Instagram have a minimum age? We suspect you're in good company. We never knew it and suspect most readers don't know the minimum age for an account on either site is 13.

Enforcement has long been lax. Facebook usually only investigates an account if there has been a complaint.

That's going to change. Both social media sites say they will begin cracking down on underage users, becoming more proactive in identifying and locking down their accounts. But what if they make a mistake and lock the account of a user who is over the age limit? Well, a government-issued photo ID will allow the user to regain access.

We don't know how successful Facebook and Instagram will be in this. But we imagine some parents will be relieved by the news. Social media can be a worry and it's hard to monitor your children's Internet activities all the time.

But don't give these online giants too much of a pat on the back. The "over 13" policy was put in place to avoid running afoul of the U.S. Child Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998-effective since 2000-in the first place. It has been suggested by the website TechCrunch that the rule was largely ignored to allow Facebook and Instagram to gain more users early and hook them to the social media experience.

In any case, at least the sites are doing the right thing. Now.

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