The Danish prime minister says the country will ban social media for under-15s, as she accused mobile phones and social networks of “stealing our children’s childhood”.
Mette Frederiksen used her speech on Tuesday at the opening of Folketing, the Danish parliament, to announce the proposal, in which she said: “We have unleashed a monster.” She added: “Never before have so many children and young people suffered from anxiety and depression.”
Many children also have difficulty reading and concentrating, said Frederiksen, adding that “on screens they see things no child or young person should see”.
She did not specify which social networks the new measures would affect, but said it would cover “several” social media platforms. She said there would be an option for parents to give permission to their children to use social media from the age of 13.
It is hoped the ban could come into effect as early as next year.
It follows the lead of Australia, which is introducing a ban on social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube for under-16s, and Norway where the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, has also said he would enforce a strict minimum age limit of 15 on social media, raising it from 13.
Støre said last year that it would be “an uphill battle” but that politicians must intervene to protect children from the “power of the algorithms”.
Denmark’s minister of digitalisation, Caroline Stage, said her government’s announcement was a “breakthrough”. She said: “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: we’ve been too naive. We’ve left children’s digital lives to platforms that never had their wellbeing in mind. We must move from digital captivity to community.”
In her speech, the prime minister cited figures showing that 60% of 11- to 19-year-old boys did not see a single friend in their free time, while 94% of Danish children in seventh grade had a profile on social media before they were 13.
“Mobile phones and social media are stealing our children’s childhood,” she said.
The announcement comes after Denmark said in February that mobile phones would be banned in all schools and after-school clubs. The decision was made on the recommendation of a government wellbeing commission, set up to investigate growing dissatisfaction among children and young people, that found children under 13 should not have their own smartphone or tablet.
The findings of research into the impact of social media on children and young people is forcing governments around the world to reconsider access to social media. In June, Greece proposed the EU set an “age of digital adulthood” that would prevent children from accessing social media without their parents’ consent.
