Over 7.5 Million Underage Users on Facebook

The world’s most popular social-networking service, had 7.5 million U.S. users who were younger than 13 in the past year, a violation of the site’s policies, according to a survey by Consumer Reports.

More than 5 million of the users were under age 11, according to the Consumer Reports “State of the Net” survey. In addition, Facebook exposed more than 5 million U.S. households to some type of “abuse,” including virus infections and identity theft, the survey showed. About 1 million children experienced bullying on the site, Consumer Reports said.
“Despite Facebook’s age requirements, many kids are using the site who shouldn’t be,” said Jeff Fox, technology editor for the Yonkers, New York, magazine. “What’s even more troubling was the finding from our survey that indicated that a majority of parents of kids 10 and under seemed largely unconcerned by their children’s use of the site.”
Facebook, which has more than 500 million members, has faced criticism that it doesn’t protect the privacy of users, especially young people, and can be used to bully teens. Last month, the company announced additional safety tools, including a redesigned “Family Safety Center” that has videos and articles for teens, parents and teachers.
Facebook said it encourages communication between parents and kids about using the Internet safely.

Age Restrictions

“Recent reports have highlighted just how difficult it is to implement age restrictions on the Internet and that there is no single solution to ensuring younger children don’t circumvent a system or lie about their age,” the company said today in an e-mailed statement. “We appreciate the attention that these reports and other experts are giving this matter and believe this will provide an opportunity for parents, teachers, safety advocates and Internet services to focus on this area.”
Facebook requires users to be at least 13 -- and older in some jurisdictions. The site also lets users report accounts registered to members who are under 13 so they can be deleted.
In March, Facebook said it’s expanding an existing reporting system that lets users flag content they consider bullying to a parent or teacher. The site also lists tips on preventing cyber-bullying, including using a “block” feature to stop abusive behavior.
In all, Palo Alto, California-based Facebook has 20 million American users under 18, Consumer Reports said.

Facebook booting '20,000' underage users per day 

But that doesn't mean Facebook isn't trying to stop kids from becoming addicted to the network at such a young age (though indoctrination does have its benefits!).
According to a report by the Daily Telegraph, Facebook is kicking out roughly 20,000 underage users per day.

In a meeting with Australia's cyber-safety committee, Facebook's chief privacy adviser Mozelle Thompson agreed that underage users were taking advantage of the site. After all, any user no matter his or her age can register for the site by simply lying when signing up -- Facebook has no mechanisms to detect whether a teen is telling the truth or not.

Facebook map of the world

"It's not perfect," said Thompson.

However, Facebook's privacy czar did argue that Facebook is trying to stop these young'ins from continuing to use the site.

"There are people who lie. There are people who are under 13 [accessing Facebook]," Thompson said. "Facebook removes 20,000 people a day, people who are underage."
Of course, that's a fraction of the nearly 600 million users on Facebook, but underage users have become a growing concern for the network, especially as it faces increased pressure from regulators -- whether in Australia or the U.S.

Most innovative companies -- Facebook

Last April, Senators Franken, Bennet, and Schumer penned a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over privacy issues related to collecting the personal data of users. This month, Sen. Franken stepped up pressure on the world's largest network, with support from even more Congressional colleagues.
This time the focus was specifically on "users between 13 to 17 years of age."
"Facebook's new privacy policy would endanger the privacy and safety of children as young as 13. Under Facebook's policy, 13 million users under the age of 18 may be allowed to share their personal information just like adult users," Franken argued.
"These younger users are the most vulnerable to predators on Facebook and the rest of the Internet and it should be impossible for them to inadvertently share their phone numbers and home addresses with anyone."

And that's not even taking into consideration the users who are younger than 13.

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