In a bold and unprecedented move, the Danish government has announced a cross-party agreement to ban access to social media platforms for children under the age of 15, citing growing concerns over the mental health and well-being of young users in an increasingly digital world.
The initiative, led by Digitalization Minister Caroline Stage, is one of the most ambitious efforts globally to regulate youth access to social media. If enacted, Denmark would become the first country in the European Union to implement a national age restriction on social media platforms, following in the footsteps of Australia, which will enforce a similar ban for children under 16 starting in December.
Key Details of the Agreement
- The minimum age for accessing certain social media platforms will be set at 15 years.
- Parental consent may allow children aged 13 and 14 to access social media, subject to specific assessments.
- The government has not yet specified which platforms will be affected, though popular platforms among Danish youth include TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook.
- Enforcement mechanisms remain unclear, raising questions about how age verification will be implemented and how privacy concerns will be addressed.
Rationale Behind the Ban
The Digitalization Ministry cited a range of negative impacts associated with early social media use, including:
- Disrupted sleep
- Loss of concentration
- Increased psychological pressure from digital interactions
- Exposure to harmful content, including violence and self-harm
Minister Stage emphasized the urgency of the issue, stating:
We are finally drawing a line in the sand and setting a clear direction. Denmark is now leading the way in Europe with a national age limit for social media and a concerted effort to strengthen the digital well-being of children and young people.
Denmark’s move aligns with a growing international trend toward stricter regulation of youth access to digital platforms:
- Australia will require platforms to implement age-verification technology and impose fines for non-compliance.
- Utah and Florida have passed laws requiring parental consent or banning social media access for minors, though legal challenges remain.
- The UK and Italy have introduced age-verification for adult content, sparking debates over privacy and data protection for minors.
Next Steps
While the agreement has broad political support, legislation is still pending. Minister Stage assured that Denmark will move swiftly but cautiously:
We won’t do it too quickly because we need to make sure that the regulation is right and that there are no loopholes for the tech giants to go through.
The government has also pledged 160 million Danish kroner (€21.4 million) to fund 14 initiatives aimed at improving online safety and developing alternative platforms for youth.
