歐盟加強青少年上網限制 逼瘋谷歌和臉書

European teenagers face having to secure parental permission to join the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat before the age of 16, under new EU data protection proposals that are riling US technology companies.

根據一項新的歐盟數據保護提議，不到16歲的歐洲青少年必須徵得父母同意才能加入臉書、Instagram和Snapchat等平臺，這讓美國科技公司感到憤怒。

The new regulations would make it illegal for companies to handle data from anyone aged 15 or younger without the consent of parents, potentially blowing a hole in the business models of social media companies that have relied on teenage users for rapid growth.

這一新的條例將會使那些未徵求父母同意，而掌握了15歲及以下孩子信息的公司落入違法的境地，同時也潛在地抓住了一些依賴青少年用戶快速增長的社交媒體公司商業模式的把柄。

A senior executive at one US tech group said: "This is a ban that will require millions of kids and teenagers to get permission from their parents to use Internet services. That includes email accounts, social media platforms and downloading apps."

美國某科技集團的一名高管表示："這項禁令將要求數以百萬計的兒童和青少年獲得父母的許可才能使用互聯網服務，包括電子郵件賬戶、社交媒體平臺和下載應用。"

US tech groups have launched a frantic lobbying effort against the proposal.

美國衆多科技集團正瘋狂遊說反對上述提議。

Tech-savvy teenagers brought up in the digital age tend to be early adopters of social networks. The networks themselves then use this as a sales pitch to lure advertisers.

在數字時代長大的科技控青少年往往是社交網絡的早期用戶，社交網絡把這當作一個賣點來吸引廣告商。

A coalition including Google, Facebook and Twitter on Monday accused negotiators of rushing the amendment and not consulting child-safety organisations.

谷歌、臉書和推特於週一聯合聲明，就議員倉促修訂提議以及未與兒童安全組織協商這一行爲進行了譴責。