AN OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE heard earlier this week that it should be “frowned upon” for parents to give a smartphone to their children before a certain age.

A number of online experts argued that the digital age of consent be kept at the age of 16, rather than changed to 13 as proposed, because of the risks to children.

The digital age of consent is the age at which a person can consent to the terms and conditions of online tech companies and service providers, such as creating an email account of Facebook page.

It has been argued that the age of 13 is too young to fully consent to all of the terms and conditions of various websites, and risks exposing young people to unnecessary risks online.

In the wake of this, number of senators have tabled an amendment to the Data Protection Bill that would keep the digital age of consent at 16.

So, today we’re asking you: Should the digital age of consent be kept at 16?

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