Denmark's government on Friday announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. The move, led by the nation's Ministry of Digitalization, would set the age limit for access to social media but give some parents, after a specific assessment, the right to give consent to let their children access social media from age 13 on, reports the AP. Such a measure would be among the most sweeping steps yet by a European government to address concerns about the use of social media among teens and younger children.
It would follow up on a move in December in Australia, where that country's lawmakers enacted the world's first ban on social media for children, setting the minimum age at 16. That made platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram subject to fines of up to about $33 million for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts. "As one of the first countries in the EU, Denmark is now taking a groundbreaking step [toward] introducing age limits on social media," the ministry said in a statement. "This is done to protect children and young people in the digital world."
The ministry noted that a coalition of parties on both the right and left "are making it clear that children should not be left alone in a digital world where harmful content and commercial interests are too much a part of shaping their everyday lives and childhoods." "Children and young people have their sleep disrupted, lose their peace and concentration, and experience increasing pressure from digital relationships where adults are not always present," it added. "This is a development that no parent, teacher, or educator can stop alone."
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