Teenagers under the age of 16 could be banned from Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and email if they don't have parental permission, under last-minute changes to EU laws.

The European Union is getting ready to push through new regulations that would raise the age of consent for websites to use personal data from 13 to 16 yrs.

Officials quietly amended proposed data protection laws last week to increase the age and put the EU out of step with rules in other parts of the world. The proposed regulations are due to be negotiated between member states in the next week. If ratified in the new year, countries would have two years to implement the law.

The new law would force millions of teenagers under 16 to seek permission from parents whenever signing up to a social media account, downloading an app or even using search engines. This would cause major difficulties for the majority of social media services such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Google who currently have a minimum age of 13 which is in compliance with European and American laws.

A petition against the move has also been launched by online safety campaigners, who say this decision would prevent under 16s using everything from social media platforms to online games, email and apps. It is also reported that a number of big US tech companies have now “launched a frantic lobbying effort” to stop the amendment being passed.

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