Denmark\u2019s government on Friday announced an agreement to ban access to social media for anyone under 15, ratcheting up pressure on Big Tech platforms as concerns grow that kids are getting too swept up in a digitized world of harmful content and commercial interests.<\/p>\n
The move would give some parents \u2014 after a specific assessment \u2014 the right to let their children access social media from age 13. It wasn\u2019t immediately clear how such a ban would be enforced: Many tech platforms already restrict pre-teens from signing up. Officials and experts say such restrictions don\u2019t always work.<\/p>\n
Such a measure would be among the most sweeping steps yet by a European Union government to limit use of social media among teens and younger children, which has drawn concerns in many parts of an increasingly online world.<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Associated Press, Caroline Stage, Denmark\u2019s minister for digital affairs, said 94% of Danish children under age 13 have profiles on at least one social media platform, and more than half of those under 10 do. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe amount of time they spend online \u2014 the amount of violence, self-harm that they are exposed to online \u2014 is simply too great a risk for our children,\u201d she said, while praising tech giants as \u201cthe greatest companies that we have. They have an absurd amount of money available, but they\u2019re simply not willing to invest in the safety of our children, invest in the safety of all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
No rush to legislation, no loopholes for tech giants<\/p>\n
Stage said a ban won\u2019t take effect immediately. Allied lawmakers on the issue from across the political spectrum who make up a majority in parliament will likely take months to pass relevant legislation. <\/p>\n
\u201cI can assure you that Denmark will hurry, but we won\u2019t do it too quickly because we need to make sure that the regulation is right and that there is no loopholes for the tech giants to go through,\u201d Stage said. Her ministry said pressure from tech giants\u2019 business models was \u201ctoo massive.\u201d <\/p>\n
It follows a move in December in Australia, where parliament enacted the world\u2019s first ban on social media for children<\/a> \u2014 setting the minimum age at 16.<\/p>\n That made platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram subject to fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.<\/p>\n Officials in Denmark didn\u2019t say how such a ban would be enforced in a world where millions of children have easy access to screens. But Stage noted that Denmark has a national electronic ID system \u2014 nearly all Danish citizens over age 13 have such an ID \u2014 and plans to set up an age-verification app. Several other EU countries are testing such apps. <\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot force the tech giants to use our app, but what we can do is force the tech giants to make proper age verification, and if they don\u2019t, we will be able to enforce through the EU commission and make sure that they will be fined up to 6% of their global income.\u201d<\/p>\n Aiming to shield kids from harmful content online<\/p>\n Many governments have been grappling with ways of limiting harmful fallout from online technologies, without overly squelching their promise. Stage said Denmark\u2019s legislative push was \u201cnot about excluding children from everything digital\u201d \u2014 but keeping them away from harmful content.<\/p>\n China \u2014 which manufacturers many of the world\u2019s digital devices \u2014 has set limits on online game time<\/a> and smart-phone time<\/a> for kids. <\/p>\n