Denmark govt mulls ban on social media access for children under 15

Denmark's government on Friday announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for anyone aged under 15.

The move, led by the Ministry of Digitalisation, 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.

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 upon a move in December in Australia, where parliament enacted the world's first ban on social media for children setting the minimum age at 16.

That made platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram subject to fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (USD33 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 towards introducing age limits on social media. This is done to protect children and young people in the digital world.

The ministry said in a statement that a coalition of parties on both 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 said.

This is a development that no parent, teacher or educator can stop alone, the ministry added.