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Facebook and the under-13s
臉譜和那些13歲以下的孩子們
Kid gloves
小心孩子
Small children are a big headache for the social network
小孩子們現在是社交網絡的一個頭疼問題
ONE American in three aged 65 or older uses social networks, says a new report by the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank.
美國智庫皮尤研討中央的一份新報告顯示，65歲或是65歲以上的人中，有三分之一的人在使用社交網絡。
But it is the small surfers, not the silver ones, who are currently making waves.
但是在社交網絡，如今興得起風做得了浪的還是年輕的一代，在這里，年齡不是什么優勢。
Facebook is examining ways to allow children under the age of 13 to use its service, with some form of parental supervision.
臉譜現在正在研究一些方法，好讓年齡在13歲以下的孩子們享受臉譜的服務，當然了，這要在家長的監督之下進行。
If this happens—and Facebook stresses that it has not yet decided whether to go ahead—it would be a venture into uncharted territory.
如果這種情況發生—臉譜強調，他們現在還沒有決定要不要這么做—向這片未知領域進軍，那將是一種冒險。
Critics howl that young children lack the maturity to cope with social networks.
評論家們怒嚎，小孩子們太嫩，對付不了社交網絡。
They also worry that Facebook will find devious ways to make money from naive children or, more likely, their parents.
他們還擔心，社交網絡會不會采取一些見不得光的手段，從天真的孩童身上撈錢，或者，更準確點講，是從孩子們的父母身上撈錢。
We would be giving the keys to the chicken coop to the fox, says Doug Fodeman of ChildrenOnline.org, a pressure group.
為了防止狡猾的狐貍，我們要給雞舍上鎖，道格?佛德曼說。道格?佛德曼是兒童在線集團的人，兒童在線集團是一個關于兒童壓力的組織。
There is also the thorny question of how Facebook could comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in America,
還有一個棘手的問題，臉譜要怎么做，才能讓其行為符合美國保護兒童在線隱私法。
which was designed to protect children under 13 as they use the internet.
保護兒童在線隱私法，是為了讓13歲以下的孩子，在上網的時候得到保護。
The law stipulates that online services with youngsters among their customers must obtain the consent of the children's parents before collecting data from them.
它規定，如果網絡服務的對象時13歲以下的孩子，那么在向孩子們收集資料的時候，必須得到孩子父母的同意
Parents also need to be able to review their children's data and have these deleted if they so wish.
。父母也需要檢查孩子的資料，如果父母覺得這些資料應該予以刪除，那么父母就有權刪除這些資料。
The onerous nature of these and other COPPA provisions explains why social networks have tended to shun the young.
些規定，還有COPPA的規定，真的是好煩的，這也是為什么社交網絡都避開孩子的原因。
Facebook insists that you have to be 13 to use its service.
臉譜強調，想要享受臉譜的服務，那么等你長到13歲吧。
The snag is that children fib about their age.
難的是孩子們對自己的年齡撒謊。
A study by Consumer Reports found that 5.6m children under 13 were using Facebook in America alone.
消費者報告的一份研究顯示，單單只是美國，就有560萬13歲以下的孩子在使用臉譜。
Another survey of American parents found that adults often knew that their children were less than 13 when they joined Facebook.
另一份關于美國父母的調查發現，孩子們在小于13歲的時候，就已經加入臉譜了，而對這件事，大人們通常都知道。
In many cases, the parents helped them to set up their accounts.
甚至在很多情況下，父母幫著孩子建立賬號。
Regulators have noticed.
管理者們已經注意到這一點了。
Facebook's current musings may reflect the fear that the firm will run into trouble if it does nothing.
目前臉譜正在深思這一問題，如果公司跟沒事人似的，問題肯定會有的，早晚的事。
It already has slightly more robust privacy settings for children between the ages of 13 and 17.
現在針對13歲到17歲之間的孩子，在隱私設置這一塊，他們已經稍微做了些還算可靠的舉措。
But it would need a far tighter regime for younger children, says Sarah Downey of Abine, an online consumer-privacy company.
在線隱私公司的負責人薩拉·唐尼說，對于年輕的小輩們，措施還需更為嚴厲些。
In spite of its plummeting share price, Facebook has oodles of cash from its recent stockmarket flotation.
雖然股份持續下降，臉譜還是從最近的股票上市中撈了一大筆錢。
So it could easily hire the extra staff needed to support parents and their youngsters, as well as to ensure compliance with COPPA.
所以雇傭更多的人員來應對父母，孩子，并且還要保證符合兒童在線隱私保護法案，這對臉譜來說，倒不是件難事。
Mark Zuckerberg, the social network's boss, has said he believes children's education should start early.
馬克·扎克伯格，社交網絡的老大，曾今說過，他相信教育要從娃娃抓起這件事。
Now he has a chance to prove that he means it.
現在歷史給他一個機會，證明自己的時刻到了。
