The Danish government on Friday announced a ban on social media access for any child under the age of 15. The move comes as the world goes digital and concerns grow over the broader impact of harmful content targeting young users, putting pressure on major tech platforms. Speaking to The Associated Press, Denmark’s Minister of Digital Affairs Caroline Stage said that 94% of Danish children under the age of 13 have a profile on at least one social media platform, and more than half of children under the age of 10 have a profile.
Tech giants not ready to protect children
The amount of time they spend online—the amount of violence and self-harm they are exposed to online—is a major threat to our children, Stage said. However, he praised the tech giants as the world’s largest companies. He said that they have immense wealth, but they are not willing to invest in the safety of our children, all of us.
Denmark will soon enact a law
According to the stage, there will be no haste in making the law. No exemption will be given to tech giants. Stage said the ban would not go into effect immediately. It may take months for MPs from all political parties having a majority in Parliament to pass legislation related to this issue. “I can assure you that Denmark will act quickly, but we will not do it too quickly because we have to make sure that regulation is strong and there are no loopholes for tech giants,” Stage said. His ministry said the pressure on the business models of tech giants is too great.
Australia imposed the first ban
The move follows Australia’s move in December, where Parliament enacted the world’s first ban on social media for children—setting the minimum age at 16. It could result in fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram.
Comprehensive plan to ban social media for children
Danish officials did not clarify how the ban would be enforced in a world where millions of children have easy access to screens. However, Stage pointed out that Denmark has a national electronic identification system. Almost all Danish citizens over the age of 13 have such identification, and there are plans to install an age-verification app. Several other EU countries are testing such apps.
Aim to protect children from harmful content online
Many governments are looking at ways to limit the harmful effects of online technologies while reneging on their promises. Stage said Denmark’s legislative effort is not about keeping children away from everything digital, but about keeping them away from harmful content.
Some children may get remission after special assessment
However, some parents will have the right to allow their 13 and 14 year old children to use social media after a specific assessment. It is not yet clear how this ban will be implemented.
Some platforms already block kids from signing up
Many platforms already prevent teens from signing up. Officials and experts say such restrictions don’t always work. Such a measure would be one of the most sweeping steps ever taken by an EU government to limit social media use among teenagers and young children.