After Kuwait’s attorney general issued on Monday strict guidelines to ensure that children are adequately protected from the potential dangers associated with social media, an attorney told Kuwait Times 18 social media accounts were referred to the prosecutor yesterday. Lawyer Mohammed Al-Khaldi explained the new guidelines only expound on already existing juvenile laws which criminalize the abuse of children. Chief among the new guidelines is introducing age restrictions requiring social media users to be at least 13 years of age. [Source]
Looks like the government is on a roll cracking down on Instagrammers. The last sentence is a bit confusing because it sounds like anybody under 13 isn’t allowed to have a social media account, but I think they actually mean anyone under 13 can’t be exploited by the parents on social media. At least I think that’s what they mean…
12 replies on “18 Social Media Accounts Sued for Exploiting Kids”
Facebook (officially) states that you need to be 13 to have an account.
Most email providers don’t allow anyone to have an account if they are under 13. Thus, they shouldn’t be on social media.
All online accounts, whether they’re on social media sites, online retailers, or video game services don’t allow anyone below 13 to have an account. It is the law in the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act
Aha, explains why my cousin in LA doesn’t let his kids setup social media. I’m like dude he’s 9 why isn’t he on Instagram already?!
Why would a 9-year-old even be on Instagram in the first place?
So I could stay in touch with my cousins kids. My other cousin in LA for example posts about her kids on her story so I can see what they’re up to (soccer practice, messing about at Costco etc) but then my other cousin doesn’t do social media so I have no idea what he or his kids are up to.
u can always call or video call or skype them
I’d rather send heart emojis and like photos :p
What type of exploitation are we talking about here?
my guess is profiting off their kids, like setting up an instagram account for their kid and then taking money off advertisers to post their kid with their product.
AFAIK from reading the law in Arabic, that is fine as long as the product is for children and the account in the first place is child friendly. The law is more about forcing a child into adult or immoral behavior.
My biggest issue with having young people on social media is the bad influence they can easily get from famous people. I’m not just referring to the social media “fashionistas” but also from other public accounts.
Although I do think enforcing a law is kinda weird, but if I was a dad now I’d probably also wouldn’t want my kids having a social media account before high school.