Terror watchdog condemns WhatsApp for lowering UK users’ minimum age to 13

Jonathan Hall, Britain’s reviewer of terrorism legislation, says more children could be exposed to encrypted extremist content

The UK’s terror watchdog has criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta for lowering the minimum age for WhatsApp users from 16 to 13, warning that the “extraordinary” move could expose more teenagers to extreme content.

Jonathan Hall KC said more children could now access material that Meta cannot regulate, including content related to terror or sexual exploitation.