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TLDR: Instagram will require all users to confirm their birthdays to protect younger people from certain types of content. It is also developing technology to detect false birth date information.
More thoughts: The use of social media by young people calls into question many legal and ethical issues.
When you sign up for a social media account, you must accept certain terms and conditions that are imposed by the platform. These would then constitute a contract between you and the platform that is non-negotiable and binding.
However, the age of contractual capacity is 18 years old. Contracts with anyone under 18 years old are unenforceable if voided by the minor. This means that young people should be able to back out of the contract with any social media site if they disaffirm it. What happens then? Lex & Rex: The Reckoning explains a US case where this was discussed.
Also, the terms of social media platforms usually stipulate that the minimum age to use these platforms is 13 years old. Why would companies allow kids under 18 years old to use the platforms if they know the terms are voidable? And why bother to set the minimum age at 13 years old? These questions are also addressed in Lex & Rex: The Reckoning!
In any event, we all know that a vast majority of people don’t bother reading the terms and conditions of any website. It is important to read contracts to understand the implications for you and your content. There has been much furor over certain terms that users are forced to accept, such as privacy, use and sharing of personal information by platforms. Tied into those issues are the need to protect more vulnerable young people from predators.