European Union mulls age limit for social media use

The European Union was mulling the possibility Tuesday of setting an age for parental consent, perhaps as high as 18, for users of social media such as Facebook, EU sources said.

Officials from the European Council of member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament were meeting in the eastern French city of Strasbourg to finalise details of a long-awaited data protection package but the talks were overshadowed by the age limit issue. One of the sources said the issue was being blown out of proportion but media interest was intense given the massive use and growth in social networks -- and concerns about their possible negative impact on the young. “There were various proposals on the age of consent by member states -- 13, 15, 16 and 18,” the source said.

“There were suggestions member states could decide individually but that would make it difficult for industry which wanted a single figure, not several,” said the source who asked not to be named.