Facebook and other social media companies may have to turn off the like function for British children under proposed guidelines to ensure their safety online.
Techniques that ‘nudge’ users to follow the tech firms’ desired outcome should not be used to keep under 18s online longer, according to the planned code touted as the first of its kind.
The Information Commissioner’s Office gives examples of these tactics, which can help firms harvest more data, as the ‘likes’ used by Facebook and Instagram as well as Snapchat’s ‘streaks’.
Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: ‘This is the connected generation. The internet and all its wonders are hardwired into their everyday lives.
‘We shouldn’t have to prevent our children from being able to use it, but we must demand that they are protected when they do. This code does that.’
The consultation is out until May 31 and the final version is expected to come into effect by 2020.
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