Denmark to raise age threshold for big tech’s data gathering

The Denmark government said on 12 June that the country plans to raise the age limit for collecting personal data from children by tech giants such as Google, Snapchat and Meta to rein in the mass collection of data on young people. It will raise the age at which children can consent to share personal data with tech companies from 13 to between 15 and 16 years. Companies now must acquire parental approval before using data from children under 13.

Business Minister Morten Bodskov stated that the technology giants need to be more accountable, as the government has to end the non-transparent algorithms. This move comes as more European countries, from Hungary to Lithuania and the Netherlands, are working on similar legislations, with Germany setting the age limit at 16. The US is also working on an online privacy bill that would ban companies from collecting personal data from children under 16 without consent and require companies to allow young users to delete personal information.