欧盟加强青少年上网限制 逼疯谷歌和脸书

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.

根据一项新的欧盟数据保护提议，不到16岁的欧洲青少年必须征得父母同意才能加入脸书、Instagram和Snapchat等平台，这让美国科技公司感到愤怒。

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.

这一新的条例将会使那些未征求父母同意，而掌握了15岁及以下孩子信息的公司落入违法的境地，同时也潜在地抓住了一些依赖青少年用户快速增长的社交媒体公司商业模式的把柄。

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."

美国某科技集团的一名高管表示："这项禁令将要求数以百万计的儿童和青少年获得父母的许可才能使用互联网服务，包括电子邮件账户、社交媒体平台和下载应用。"

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

美国众多科技集团正疯狂游说反对上述提议。

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.

在数字时代长大的科技控青少年往往是社交网络的早期用户，社交网络把这当作一个卖点来吸引广告商。

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

谷歌、脸书和推特于周一联合声明，就议员仓促修订提议以及未与儿童安全组织协商这一行为进行了谴责。