PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Raise the age of digital consent from 13 to 16
Raise the age for digital consent from 13 to 16. GDPR contains specific protections for children – defined as under 16 years of age – such as stating that consent when processing a child’s data can only be obtained with parental authorisation.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
49
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 49/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 49/100,000
Background
We do not believe that the majority of children, at the age of 13, appreciate the consent given to companies when granting permission to handle their data. As parents are legally responsible for their children's actions at this age, we believe it seems wholly inappropriate that children should be given the responsibility at such a young age. GDPR contains specific protections for children - defined as under 16 years - but the UK lowered this to the age of 13 when UK GDPR was introduced.