Nanny State Feds Hamper Mobile Apps for Kids

Can't let families make decisions about what children should have on their phones, can they?

The Federal Trade Commission levied a $800,000 fine on the social networking service Path Friday morning for having, among other things, permitted children to use the service, a small social network meant for friends and family.

"Early in Path's history, children under the age of 13 were able to sign up for accounts," the company wrote on its blog. "A very small number of affected accounts have since been closed by Path."

My first reaction was to hurriedly open the app on my iPhone where I found, to my relief, that my 9-year old son's account remained active. My son's picture of his grandfather holding a McDonald's bag ("Doom has befall us!") and his image of his little brother face down in a laundry bin ("'helping' with the laundry") were still there; as were dozens of messages he's exchanged with his old babysitter; his typos and double-posts and occasional errors of tone or content that you make when you're a kid learning something new.