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Under 16s face social media and email ban under new data protection rules

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By John Glenday, Reporter

December 15, 2015 | 1 min read

Teenagers aged 16 and under face being kicked off social media and email without obtaining parental consent as part of draft new data protection rules being drawn up by the EU.

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This would raise the age of consent to access services such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram & Twitter from 13 to 16, putting the continent out of kilter with regulations in other regions where it would remain at 13 - forcing millions of teenagers to obtain parental consent to sign-up for a social media account, download an app or even just conduct an internet search.

The proposals are designed to harmonise data protection rules across the continent but are bound to be met with dismay by Silicon Valley, with firms facing fines of up to four per cent of turnover if they are found to have flouted the new rules.

Should the new law be ratified by the EU parliament in the New Year individual member states would have two years in which to implement the tighter measures.

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