Facebook ‘thinking about’ opening site to preteens

TORONTO – Facebook says it has considered opening up the site to children under the age of 13.

While the current rules state that kids must turn 13 before signing up for Facebook, many are ignoring that rule, often with the help of their parents.

Facebook chose 13 as its minimum age because of the terms of the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act in the United States.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Read more: Privacy Commissioner recommends users disable ‘frequent locations’ setting on iOS 7

The act states that companies shouldn’t collect information from anyone under the age of 13 without parental consent.

But Facebook says it has discussed ways of letting kids under 13 use the site without violating the act.

Read more: Facebook changes privacy settings, users can no longer hide from search

In 2011, a Facebook official was quoted as saying that about 20,000 underage accounts were being deleted every day.

A spokesman for Canada’s privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said that consultation would be important if Facebook planned to begin accepting younger users.