Denmark set to limit social media for children under 15

5 hours ago 3

London: Denmark will ban social media for anyone aged under 15 after a political deal to endorse new laws follows a similar crackdown in Australia, signalling the momentum for tougher measures across Europe.

The Danish government announced the change after a clash with social media giants over their impact on the health of children and teenagers, amid a broad push across Europe to restrict or ban their platforms among younger users.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called social media a “monster” for mental health.

But the deal came with a key concession for parents who might allow their children to start using the platforms from a younger age, allowing them to give their consent under specific rules from the age of 13.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen declared last month that society had “unleashed a monster” through the widespread use of social media among the young.

“Never before have so many children and young people suffered from anxiety and depression,” she said.

The announcement in Copenhagen on Friday (11pm AEST) signalled support for changes that are yet to be drafted in law and put to parliament, amid questions in Europe that parallel concerns in Australia about how the rules could be enforced.

Denmark is yet to name the companies it will target. Australia has passed a law to enforce age verification from December 10. The new regime imposes fines of up to $50 million on platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Kick, Threads, Reddit, YouTube, X and Instagram if they do not enforce the age limit.

The Danish government said it had support from legislators across the political left, centre and right to enact the new regime.

Digitalisation Minister Caroline Stage Olsen said the government was “finally drawing a line in the sand” after allowing the rise of the social media platforms for many years.

“Denmark is now leading the way in Europe with a national age limit for social media and a concerted effort to strengthen the digital wellbeing of children and young people,” she said.

Caroline Stage Olsen, Danish Minister for Digitalization leads a press conference about a new political agreement for better protection of children and young people online.

“We are taking a necessary stand against a development where large tech platforms have had free rein in children’s rooms for far too long.”

Stage Olsen has previously said society had been “naïve” in giving the tech platforms so much influence over children, and she blasted Instagram earlier this year for launching an advertising campaign to oppose mandatory age verification.

Instagram, which is owned by Meta, the tech giant led by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, used the campaign in June to argue for age checks to be done in the app store rather than by the social media platforms.

“I must be honest here, I was furious when I saw that advertisement,” Stage Olsen told Politico at the time. “I wish they would have spent the money on making a technical age verification solution instead of making a campaign stating how much they care.”

European leaders heaped praise on the Australian approach when they met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a meeting on social media at the United Nations in New York in September.

“Since the announcement of Australia’s landmark minimum age law, I’ve been watching very closely, and I’ve been inspired by Australia’s example,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the event.

A key speaker at the event was Emma Mason, whose 15-year-old daughter Tilly took her life after being bullied by other teens on social media.

Emma Mason, who lost her 15 year old daughter Tilly to suicide, addressed leaders in New York in September.

Members of the European Parliament are preparing for a debate in November on a social media ban after an inquiry called for a minimum age of 16 in a report issued last month. The inquiry was led by Danish politician Christel Schaldemose, a Social Democrat like Frederiksen.

France will be one of the next countries to debate stronger laws after a parliamentary committee declared in September that there should be a “digital curfew” for teenagers to keep them off social media at night.

The French inquiry called for a social media ban for those under 15 and a curfew for those aged from 15 to 18. It was chaired by National Assembly member Laure Miller of the Renaissance party, which is led by French President Emmanuel Macron.