臉譜網的憂慮:13歲以下的兒童是否該用社交網絡
Small children are a big headache for the social network.
社交網絡中的小鬼是個大問題。ONE American in three aged 65 or older uses social networks, says a new report by the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank. But it is the small surfers, not the silver ones, who are currently making waves. Facebook is examining ways to allow children under the age of 13 to use its service, with some form of parental supervision. If this happens-and Facebook stresses that it has not yet decided whether to go ahead-it would be a venture into uncharted territory.
美國智庫皮尤研究中心在新發布的一份報告中指出，美國65歲及其以上的老年人中有三分之一使用社交網絡。但如今製造狀況的卻是年紀輕輕的衝浪者，而非滿頭白髮的人。臉譜網將覈准允許13歲以下的兒童在某種父母監管形式下使用其服務的方式。如果臉譜網的確將其付諸行動——臉譜網強調它並未決定是否採取進一步的措施——它將在一片未知領域中展開冒險。Critics howl that young children lack the maturity to cope with social networks. They also worry that Facebook will find devious ways to make money from naive children or, more likely, their parents. "We would be giving the keys to the chicken coop to the fox," says Doug Fodeman of , a pressure group.
評論者們怒斥道，兒童不夠成熟，社交網絡上的種種他們應付不來。他們也擔心臉譜網會從天真無知的孩子們，或者更有可能是其父母身上賺取不義之財。任職於一家壓力集團——兒童網絡服務組織——的Doug Fodeman說："我們這是在送羊入虎口。"
There is also the thorny question of how Facebook could comply with the Children's OnlinePrivacy Protection Act (COPPA) in America, which was designed to protect children under 13 as they use the internet. The law stipulates that online services with youngsters among their customers must obtain the consent of the children's parents before collecting data from them. Parents also need to be able to review their children's data and have these deleted if they so wish. The onerous nature of these and other COPPA provisions explains why social networks have tended to shun the young. Facebook insists that you have to be 13 to use its service.
另一個棘手的問題便是臉譜網會如何遵守《兒童網絡隱私權法案》(COPPA)，該法案旨在對13歲以下使用因特網的兒童進行保護。法案規定，擁有兒童客戶的網絡服務須徵得其父母同意才能獲取他們的資料。父母也同樣需要有權審查孩子的資料，並且如果父母覺得有必要，可以刪掉孩子的資料。COPPA的上述規定及其它條款繁瑣複雜，這就使得社交網絡都刻意避開年輕客戶。臉譜網則強調，其用戶必須年滿13歲。The snag is that children fib about their age. A study by Consumer Reports found that 5.6m children under 13 were using Facebook in America alone. Another survey of American parents found that adults often knew that their children were less than 13 when they joined Facebook. In many cases, the parents helped them to set up their accounts.
不過有個小問題：孩子們會謊報年齡。消費者報告在研究中發現，單在美國就有560萬13歲以下的兒童玩臉譜網。另一份針對美國父母的調查表明，父母通常都知道其孩子註冊臉譜網時還未滿13歲。而且在很多情況下，父母們都會幫助他們開通賬戶。Regulators have noticed. Facebook's current musings may reflect the fear that the firm will run into trouble if it does nothing. It already has slightly more robust privacy settings for children between the ages of 13 and 17. But it would need a far tighter regime for younger children, says Sarah Downey of Abine, an online consumer-privacy company.
網絡監管部門已注意到了這點。臉譜網當前的考量是它擔心如果無任何作爲，公司便會麻煩纏身。它已爲13至17歲的用戶建立了更爲健全的隱私設置。不過，來自網絡客戶隱私保護公司億邦公司的Sarah Downey說，臉譜網也許需要爲13歲以下的兒童設立更爲嚴格的監管機制。In spite of its plummeting share price, Facebook has oodles of cash from its recent stockmarket flotation. So it could easily hire the extra staff needed to support parents and their youngsters, as well as to ensure compliance with COPPA. Mark Zuckerberg, the social network's boss, has said he believes children's education should start early. Now he has a chance to prove that he means it.
儘管臉譜網股價暴跌，但近期的上市使得它有大筆現金入帳。因此，僱傭額外所需員工爲父母及其孩子提供服務，並且使這些員工遵守COPPA,對臉譜網而言也許並非難事。該社交網站的老闆Mark Zuckerberg說，對兒童的教育應儘早開始。如今便有一個機會擺在他面前，讓他證明自己不是說說而已。
