On 1 January this year, Denmark introduced a change in privacy legislation: They increased the age limit for giving consent to the use of personal data, from 13 to 15 years. The same proposal has now been put on the table is at home. The aim is to get children under the age of 15 away from social media. But in Denmark, the change in the law has not worked as planned. Several of the major social media have retained their old age limit of 13. “Snapchat and TikTok refuse to comply with the new law,” wrote the Danish newspaper Politiken already in April this year. According to the newspaper, the social media companies believe that the change in law does not apply to them. Tobias Judin has worked with GDPR for many years. Photo: Martin Gundersen / news – We are very excited about what effect it will have in Norway when it has not had much effect in Denmark, says Tobias Judin, head of the international section in the Data Protection Authority. Will not change the limits The provisions in the Personal Data Act are not an age limit for social media, explains Judin. – Norwegian legislators can choose to introduce an age limit if they wish. But it will be a separate race, he says. Judin is considered one of the country’s foremost experts on privacy legislation. He says that countries around Europe have many different age limits according to the Personal Data Act. They can vary from 13 to 16 years. – But social media has an age limit of 13 throughout Europe. They are not going to change it for Norway, says Judin. Therefore, the age limit can continue to be 13 The Norwegian government wants to exclude young people under the age of 15 from social media. But the law Minister Kjersti Toppe is now proposing to change deals with how old people must be to be able to give consent for websites to use their personal data. Toppe will change the limit from 13 to 15 years, so only people over 15 can give such consent without parental approval. But consent, i.e. that you have clicked “OK” in a box about the use of personal data, is not always necessary according to the Personal Data Act. If the processing of personal data is “necessary to fulfill an agreement”, or the business’s interests in processing personal data outweigh your privacy, a service can avoid obtaining consent. When you have signed up to a social medium, you have entered into an agreement. Then the companies believe they have weighty interests in processing the users’ data. And thus the company believes that the change in the law does not affect them. I think it will have value – We are following Denmark, but if we waited and looked at the experience, we could not act. This is what Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) says to news. – We cannot conclude that it has not worked in Denmark, she says. Toppe believes that the amendment to the Personal Data Act has independent value. – It’s not just about social media, but about how we can secure children’s privacy. Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) believes the bill sends a clear signal. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – Children today are not protected enough. This applies to your personal data. And that applies to the use of social media, Toppe adds. She believes the change in the law is important, even if the companies have not followed it up in other countries. – There is a very clear signal from the government that if one is to be on social media under the age of 15, they must have the consent of their parents, says Toppe. Want an absolute age limit – Do you think that the social media companies will now change their age limit in Norway? – It is difficult for me to guarantee or be 100 percent sure of that. – What if they just blow what you have proposed? – They can’t blow it. The personal data regulations will of course apply. Under the age of 15, a child cannot consent themselves to being on that platform, she says. Going forward, she will now work with an absolute age limit for social media. But it’s a longer run. – We have to work in parallel with various measures, and this is the first thing we are doing. I am convinced that it has a value in itself, says Toppe. YouTube asked for consent news has been in contact with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. They do not wish to comment on the matter. Both TikTok and Snapchat have informed Politiken that they process data in accordance with GDPR, the European data protection law. Google, on the other hand, has chosen to follow the intention of the Danish legislators. After the law was introduced on 1 January this year, Google has asked for parental consent for children to keep their YouTube channel. – If Denmark says it’s the law, then that’s what we do, says Christine Sørensen, political head of Google in the Nordics, to the Danish newspaper. I don’t think the law will work – What the government has now proposed, I don’t think it will have any effect. That is not the way to go, says Kaja Hegg, special adviser at Redd Barna to news. – I perceive it almost more as a political signal than as a measure that will actually contribute, she says. Kaja Hegg is a special adviser at Redd Barna. She believes the bill is just a political signal. Photo: KJETIL GRUDE FLEKKØY / news Hegg characterizes the draft law from the Government as “unfinished business”, and believes that it does not address the fact that children use social media when they do not have the age and maturity to use it. – The starting point for an age limit must be that we must protect children from harmful content and technology that is harmful to children. If we are going to use personal data as a starting point, it will not be effective until we get technology to verify age, says Hegg. – But it is clear, political signals do matter, she adds. Hoping for a technical solution Save the Children is now hoping for a technical solution that can ensure that age limits are respected, but at the same time safeguard people’s privacy. – We do not rule out that such solutions exist in the long term. It has to be in place so that you can realistically restrict ordinary young people or children from being on social media, she says. Kjersti Toppe believes that the debate has had an effect anyway: – My impression is that the message has gotten out, and there are now many more people discussing the 15-year age limit. Including young people themselves. An increased awareness of this is good, says the Minister for Children and Families to news. Published 26.10.2024, at 12.35 p.m
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