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The next update of WhatsApp, 2.19.222, could be the last one under 16 years old saw on their mobile phones. At least, until they reach that age, the minimum allowed by the terms of service of the application, as according to the WABetaInfo portal, with it the company begins to develop a function that will expel the service that does not meet this requirement.

The change, which would only affect European users, at the moment has no date, no way of use (that is, it is not known how the company will detect and block the numbers of minors). By not having, it has no official confirmation, although WABetaInfo is usually right with its predictions, which it obtains from the test program of the unfinished versions of the application that arrive at Google Play the App Store. Of course, it may take months to reach end users.

The press department of WhatsApp, for its part, only responds that they do not comment on rumors or speculation, so it is impossible to know what the method they will apply to 'ban' the accounts or when they plan to start doing so. What is true, because it can be seen in its terms of service, is that technically WhatsApp, on paper, could not be used by children under 16 at least since April 24, 2018, date of the last update of these.

The update was made so that the tool complies with the GDPR and affects the countries of the European Union, which actually provides the WhatsApp Ireland service instead of WhatsApp Inc. Previously the minimum age had varied between 13 and 16 years at different times.

The figure is similar in other social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and the level of commitment to this rule is also very similar: if minors do not say openly that they are below the minimum age - for example, indicating their date of birth on your profile-, the platform takes your word for granted. At the door of these virtual boxes nobody asks for the ID.

According to a guide from the Mapfre Foundation, 18% of those under 11 years of age can use the internet for these instant messaging services without parental permission and in the case of those over 15 years of age the percentage goes up to 90%.

How could the application detect these accounts? And how can you get rid of them, considering that this blockage would last, at most two or three years? Doing so by phone number, for example, could be a problem if it is later assigned to another person or when the minor exceeds the minimum age.

José Rosell, managing partner of S2 Grupo, points directly to Facebook as a tool to carry out the verification. In the end, both companies are the same, so the data of the users who use both are there. The other option, he explains, would be to ask users directly "and since I have reason, everyone lies with this." As you remember, it was happening at the time with Tuenti.

Therefore, he believes that more than an 'effective banning' it is a "legal coverage like a pine tree's cup". He does not believe that it will have security consequences, because he considers that it will not be applied correctly, so it will not force you to look for ways to skip the walls that WhatsApp builds.

For Rosell, the idea itself is good and necessary, since, in his opinion, authentication is guilty of much of the cybercrimes and those who can take action should "put the batteries." "If I say that I am Michelle Obama, who will say that I am not?" He asks. The problem is that "there are ways to do it, but they are uncomfortable." Facebook, either from its own platform or from WhatsApp and Instagram, wants to have as many users as possible and these controls reduce the number. "The product is us; they use and abuse us constantly."

Sergio García Soriano, clinical psychologist and social intervention expert, remembers that this movement could also have consequences in the life of the kids. "It can have a positive effect, but it is also something that can be exclusive," he explains. "When you are little, you play to be older" and this would establish a sort of new age of majority: that of being able to use WhatsApp. "Leaving them out of the group attracts attention and at that time the social pressure is great."

In any case, although the Facebook measure is not made for the use among minors, but for the European data protection directive, it also points out that, in general, “it is always better to educate than to prohibit”, since when prohibiting something, He puts an arrow with bright neons. As for the possible controls that WhatsApp can establish, García Soriano has it clear: they don't make much sense against digital natives. If they can, they will tear them down; if not, another network will be searched.

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