Mark Zuckerberg Suggests Kids Under 13 Should Be Allowed On Facebook

According to a Consumer Reports study, over 7.5 million of Facebook's users are under 13, a problem Senator Jay Rockefeller recently called "indefensible." But CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that kids should be allowed on Facebook at a very young age.

In an interview with John Doerr, first reported by Fortune, Zuckerberg said that the future of education will be enabled by technology, including social networks like Facebook. Currently, Facebook does not allow children under 13 to join, which Zuckerberg says is due to the restrictions regarding such members. But according to Fortune, Zuckerberg says he hopes all that will change.

"That will be a fight we take on at some point," he said. "My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age."

Facebook has faced ongoing scrutiny over privacy concerns. In a recent study of 65 participants, all 65 found that they were sharing information through Facebook that they had believed private. Another report, by Symantec, reported that millions of users' profile information had been leaked through over 100,000 third-party apps. Facebook currently allows users to share home addresses and cellphone numbers with third-party apps.

Alongside privacy problems, Facebook also presents the potential for a variety of other cyber-dangers. Consumer Reports found that over 5 million households had had serious issues on the site, including identity theft, scams, computer viruses, and cyberbullying.

Facebook is also currently being sued for failing to get parental permission before using minors' personal information in its social ads.

Despite all of this, Zuckerberg promises that if children were allowed on the site, that proper security measures would be taken.

"Because of the restrictions we haven't even begun this learning process," Zuckerberg said. "If they're lifted then we'd start to learn what works. We'd take a lot of precautions to make sure that they [younger kids] are safe."

Comments

[vintagemom45]

08:45 AM on 05/23/2011

How about making FB safe for everyone Mr. Zuckerberg and forget about trying to get those children under 13 bcause there is absolutely nothing educational about FB. I haven't allowed my 15-year old son to have a FB page. Your pimary concern is about making more money off these children rather than the fact that you're allowing the personal information of the current users FB to be obtained by scammers, viruses to be spread on our computers and spam coming to our email addresses.

[ifyouseekay]

06:04 PM on 05/22/2011

even younger. sexual predators need those preteens!

[Zadoc]

04:54 PM on 05/22/2011

I don't know if Facebook will offer a good educational opportunity for kids, and I don't know if it's dangerous, but I do know that kids will find a way to use Facebook if they want.
Poll: Should kids under 13 be allowed to use Facebook?
Link: http://www.wepolls.com/r/516798

[Catherine GraniczHamori]

06:37 PM on 05/21/2011

Interesting comments from Zuckerberg -- he speaks volumes about the fact that he has no children yet makes recommendations for children. It's like when the creator of the Simpson's apologized and said he would never allow his own children to watch the show. Duh!

[Cynthia Duncan]

02:40 PM on 05/21/2011

Time for you to have your own family. Trust me you would wish for Pony Express!!!!!!

[onlyahumanshell]

01:12 PM on 05/21/2011

Zuckerberg doesn't understand because Facebook happened "too young and too fast" and the U.S. Government is only going to scrutinize him more. Also, Zuckerberg is perceived as having bad social skills because of his education (field of computers) and because of his success. Thus, he lacks certain character traits. However, this should not be viewed as a negative because I'd say it is safe to assume that a lot of people are socially inept in some form. What bothers me a bit is that Zuckerberg appears to be setting himself up for failure because what if children 13 and under are allowed on Facebook, Facebook's restrictions and policies are not enough, and "the unthinkable happens to the child via Facebook." Hmmmmm...these are very rough waters indeed. Zuckerberg is too young and too inexperienced for managing Facebook as a whole. This does not mean he cannot run certain parts of Facebook, but Facebook appears to be getting "too big too fail." Look over there ....the Titanic just sank.

[Winski]

11:56 AM on 05/21/2011

Pedophilia anyone??

[onlyahumanshell]

01:15 PM on 05/21/2011

Not exactly Pedophilia, but he may view this as an obstacle that prevents him from making money and learning the internet habits of young kids. Unless Zuckerberg is careful and chooses his actions and his words carefully, it may be construed as Pedophilia. Zuckerberg is in a pickle for sure.

[Sassydays]

10:47 AM on 05/21/2011

What does Mark Zuckerburg know about parenting? Maybe that's why he is perceived as having bad social skills, ironically. Could it be he had too much focus on education at too young an age?

[Mohammad Yeasin]

07:06 AM on 05/21/2011

I dont think this is a good idea. kids r kids. not adult

[korzib]

05:26 AM on 05/21/2011

I am a little unclear on the educational benefits of Facebook. I really wish Zuck would elaborate on that point. To be honest, I would be grateful if Zuck could elaborate on any benefits of Facebook for children under 13.

[ifyouseekay]

06:05 PM on 05/22/2011

simple: if you show me yours i show you mine!

[LightShadow62]

02:13 AM on 05/21/2011

Of course Zuckerberg wants preteens on Facebook, it's easy to get them to give up information for him to sell.

[ifyouseekay]

06:05 PM on 05/22/2011

for life!!!

[saskatoonie]

12:27 AM on 05/21/2011

My husband's Little Brothers from the Big/Little Bros. program are on Facebook, my daughter's best friend's little siblings and numerous other children that I know are not over thirteen. It is happening already......I don't agree with it but it seems that other parents are OK with it!

[David Belanus]

11:36 PM on 05/20/2011

Two words: Sexual predator. Here's another few words: Dumbest Billionaire That has Ever Existed on this Planet.

[ifyouseekay]

06:06 PM on 05/22/2011

accidental (or thieving) billionaire.

[Saxton]

11:16 PM on 05/20/2011

I'm sure all the predators out there agree with you Mark, but I'm sure for you it's all about the money and not contemplating the potential risks that exist for children.

[apathyman]

06:07 PM on 05/20/2011

If children are allowed in there will be proper security, Because we all know adults do require security. Here's what, If he's so into sharing why doesn't he share how much he makes selling our info -_-