NEW YORK: Britain said it would ban social media access for children under 16 starting in 2027, joining several other countries introducing similar measures.
According to News York Times, several other countries have announced plans for similar social media bans as parents, educators and experts try to protect children from the potential harms associated with its use.
In December, Australia became the first country to bar anyone under 16 from using many social media apps. It was a closely watched test case for many countries, including Britain, which said it would adopt its own version of the Australian model.
The planned bans, in Britain and other countries, follow growing calls from parents and educators for governments and tech companies to do more to protect children online. In December, for instance, a YouGov poll found that 74 percent of Britons supported such a ban. On Monday, Britain said that nine out of 10 parents who responded to a government survey were in favor.
Public pressure has grown in recent years as parents and educators worry about the harmful effects of social media on young people. A group of British parents of children who took their own lives after consuming negative content on social media have campaigned for years for the government to act.
This month, Starmer said that if tech companies operating in Britain did not introduce controls to prevent children from sending and receiving sexually explicit images, the law would be changed.
AUSTRALIA: The ban in Australia, which took effect in December, requires social media users to be at least 16 to have access to accounts on Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook and other platforms and services. In January, an Australian regulator announced that companies had “removed access” to about 4.7 million accounts belonging to children under 16. But six months in, many young teenagers are still on the platform: In March, the Australian regulator reported that seven in 10 parents whose children already had a social media account said the teenagers still had access to one of the age-restricted services. Other surveys have reported similar findings.
MALAYSIA: This month, Malaysia began enforcing rules barring children younger than 16 from having social media accounts. The government had announced those plans in November. The authorities said age verification for existing users would be rolled out over the next six months, The Associated Press reported. Companies could face fines, but not parents.
SPAIN: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced plans in February for a similar ban that would require platforms to institute effective age-verification systems. It would need parliamentary approval to become law.
FRANCE: A ban on social media for children under 15 could be in place for the start of the school year in September. The plan is popular across the political spectrum, and President Emmanuel Macron has been a vocal supporter.
GREECE: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in April that legislation to ban social media for children under 15 would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The proposal has little opposition, and the legislation is expected to pass this summer. Mitsotakis warned, “The addictive design of certain applications, the profit model that is based on your attention, on how long you spend in front of your phone screens, and which deprives your own innocence and freedom, has to be stopped.”
DENMARK: The country announced a plan in November to bar anyone under 15 from using certain social media platforms. Parents would be allowed to give children ages 13 and older permission to use social media. The ministry has said it wants to give children more time for “peace, play and development” before they start using social media.
INDONESIA: In March, Indonesia began imposing a new regulation barring children younger than 16 from using what it called “high-risk platforms,” which included TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Roblox, the country’s national police force said in a statement.
CHINA: China has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on internet usage: It blocks many Western platforms, and the authorities have imposed limits on how much time children can spend on its wide array of homegrown social media sites.
BRAZIL: A law seeking to protect children from addictive, violent and pornographic online content took effect in March. The measure is not a ban. Instead, children under 16 would have to link their accounts to a legal guardian, who could supervise their social media usage. The law also prohibits platforms from having what Brazil called “manipulative design practices.”
THE UNITED STATES: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act prevents companies from collecting the personal data of users under 13. A blanket social media ban for children would be difficult to enact, partly because states have their own laws. Some states have moved to restrict usage, but those efforts have been challenged in court on free-speech grounds.
