California Law To Allow Teens To Delete Social Media Posts

California has passed a law allowing under-18s to force websites to delete their personal information.

The law takes effect from 2015 and includes content that has been posted by the individual, like photos and content.

However, companies will not be made to remove content posted or reposted by others. The information will also not have to be removed from their servers.

Chief executive of Common Sense Media, a charity that promotes children’s digital privacy said: “Teens often self-reveal before they self-reflect and may post sensitive personal information about themselves – and about others – without realising the consequences.”

According to a survey carried out by Pew, 19 percent of US youths with a social media account had posted comments or photos that they later regretted, while 59 percent had deleted or edited a post.

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) have concerns over whether webites will understand this new leglislation and the legal obligations that come with it.

“Our chief concern is that this legal uncertainty will discourage operators from developing content and services tailored to younger users, and will lead popular sites and services that may appeal to minors to prohibit minors from using their services,” said CDT’s policy counsel Emma Llanso.

However Google chairman Eric Schmidt said back in May that the Internet needs a “delete button”.

So should this new legislation been extended to everyone with a social media profile, not just children? We’d love to hear your comments.

[Image via Huffington Post]

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24227095