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Mark Zuckerberg is a lot of things--innovative, stubborn, wealthy, young. Articulate he is not. Last week, the Facebook founder went on the record with venture capitalist John Doerr at a summit in Burlingame, California. The conversation drifted quickly to Facebook's recent controversy over the number of children under 13 with accounts and Zuckerberg's views on education.
"In the future, software and technology will enable people to learn a lot from their fellow students," Zuckerberg told the audience, according to Fortune reporter Michael Lev-Ram. Presumably answering a question about the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) mandate that disallows users under the age of 13 to sign up for Facebook--it's unclear exactly what he was responding to in the Fortune report--Zuckerberg hinted that the company may try to challenge the law in the future, "That will be a fight we take on at some point," he said. "My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age."
Facebook and privacy beat bloggers blew up over Fortune's assumption that "Zuckerberg is determined to change" America's laws protecting children's privacy. "Minor Controversy: Zuckerberg Wants Young Kids on Facebook" reads the headline at All Things D. "Zuckerberg Wants Kids Under 13 on Facebook" declared Gizmodo's Sam Biddle. "Kids Under 13 Should Use Facebook, Zuckerberg Says" reported Jackie Cohen on All Facebook.