As Australia on Wednesday began enforcing a world-first social media ban for children under 16 years old, Denmark is planning to follow its lead and severely restrict social media access for young people.
The Danish government last month announced that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15.
Such a measure would be the most sweeping step yet by a EU nation to limit use of social media among teens and children.
Photo: Reuters
The Danish government’s plans could become law as soon as the middle of next year.
The proposed measure would give some parents the right to let their children access social media from age 13, local media reported, but the ministry has not yet fully shared their plans.
Many social media platforms already ban children younger than 13 from signing up, and an EU law requires Big Tech to put measures in place to protect young people from online risks and inappropriate content.
However, officials and experts say that such restrictions do not always work.
Danish authorities have said that despite the restrictions, about 98 percent of Danish children under age 13 have profiles on at least one social media platform and almost half of those under 10 years old do.
Danish Minister for Digital Affairs Caroline Stage, who announced the proposed ban last month, said that there is still a consultation process for the measure and several readings in parliament before it becomes law, perhaps by “mid to end of next year.”
“In far too many years, we have given the social media platforms free play in the playing rooms of our children. There’s been no limits,” Stage said in an interview last month. “When we go into the city at night, there are bouncers who are checking the age of young people to make sure that no one underage gets into a party that they’re not supposed to be in. In the digital world, we don’t have any bouncers, and we definitely need that.”
Some students say they are worried that strict laws would mean they lose touch with their virtual communities.
“I myself have some friends that I only know from online, and if I wasn’t 15 yet, I wouldn’t be able to talk with those friends,” said student Ronja Zander, who uses Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
Copenhagen high-school student Chloe Courage Fjelstrup-Matthisen, 14, said she is aware of the negative impact social madia can have, from cyberbullying to seeing graphic content.
She said she saw video of a man being shot several months ago.
“The video was on social media everywhere and I just went to school and then I saw it,” she said.
Line Pedersen, a mother from Nykobing in Denmark, said she believed the plans were a good idea.
“I think that we didn’t really realize what we were doing when we gave our children the telephone and social media from when they were eight, 10 years old,” she said. “I don’t quite think that the young people know what’s normal, what’s not normal.”
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