Copenhagen, Denmark. The first European country to regulate social media use by children and young people.
Following Australia, another country is now planning to legally restrict access to social media for children and young people: Denmark. This makes it the first European country to take this step. In a press release, Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage finds clear words for this decision. She sees social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok as a major risk for violence and self-harm, which disproportionately affects children and young people. The aim of the social media ban is to protect minors from these dangers.
In this context, Stage points to the negative physical and psychological consequences of social media abuse, such as sleep disorders and concentration problems. She also criticizes the inaction of large tech companies in incorporating sustainable measures to protect minors into their platforms. An analysis by the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority found that young people spend an average of just under three hours a day on social media. However, according to the Federal Institute for Public Health, two hours a day is the upper limit for screen time for young people.
More and more countries are trying to regulate the screen time of children and young people through new laws. However, practical implementation is often not easy. Many measures can be circumvented with a little technical knowledge. The social media ban in Denmark is expected to apply to people under the age of 15. It will be implemented with the help of an age verification app linked to the national digital ID system. Lack of cooperation from social media operators will be punished with heavy fines. However, it is still unclear which platforms will be affected by the ban and how its implementation will be framed legally.
Sources Tagesschau, Zeit, and Reuters
Translation Charles Cross
Image George Pagan
