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**Why promote “free messengers” instead of tolerating “WhatsApp”, for example?
Free messengers can be used without age restriction. WhatsApp, on the other hand, may not be used by people under 16 without parental consent. WhatsApp’s terms and conditions state:
“Age.
“If you live in a country in the European Region, you must be at least 16 years old to use our Services or the age required in your country to register for or use our Services. If you live in a country that is not in the European Region, you must be at least 13 years old to use our Services or the age required in your country to register or use our Services. In addition to the requirement that you must be the minimum age required to use our Services under applicable law, the following applies: If you are not old enough to be eligible to agree to our Terms in your country, your legal guardian must agree to our Terms on your behalf.”
Back in August 2016, WhatsApp lowered the minimum age for use from 16 to 13. In the same month, the Bad Hersfeld District Court ruled that there were fundamental legal concerns regarding the use of WhatsApp by children and young people under the age of 16. The renewed increase in the minimum age is not voluntary, but merely the implementation of a new legal regulation.
(Source: https://www.klicksafe.de/service/aktuelles/news/detail/welches-mindestalter-gilt-fuer-whatsapp/)
From May 2018, an EU-wide tightening of the minimum age in social networks will apply. The recitals of the new regulation state:
“Children deserve special protection with regard to their personal data, as children may be less aware of the relevant risks, consequences and safeguards and of their rights in relation to the processing of personal data. Such specific protection should in particular concern the use of personal data of children for advertising purposes or for the creation of personality or user profiles and the collection of personal data from children when using services offered directly to children.”
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) stipulates that, among other things, the use of internet services and platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, YouTube and the like is only permitted for under-16s with parental consent.