Since May 25, 2018, Europe has raised the age limit for accessing WhatsApp to 16, which “should” also verify, through a simple question, the age of the user and that the parents are actually such.
However, as often happens, the regulation does not provide anything about the methods of controls, exactly as happens for adult sites or gambling: in fact, they are prohibited to minors but there is no real control to prevent their use by them.
Personally, I believe that due to the many hidden dangers on the net (pedophilia, revenge porn, cyberbullying) minors' phones should always be supervised by parents because those who have accepted the new privacy terms in the Watsapp app will not have further controls.
The app, for its part, by asking the question about age, will have freed itself from any possible responsibility.
For anyone under the age of 16 who wishes to use the service, the consent of a parent or guardian is required.
However, to get around this obstacle, just lie about your age!
This is why the appeal of the Deputy Prosecutor, Dr. Maria Letizia Mannella, following the arrest of a paedophile…
Security, in my humble opinion, must come before privacy.
