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denmark has announced a historic agreement to curb the use of social media Children The move comes amid growing global concerns over the widespread impact of harmful content and commercial exploitation aimed at young users in an increasingly digital world, for those under 15, in a move to step up pressure on major tech platforms.
While the new law will allow parents to admit their 13- and 14-year-old children after a specific assessment, significant questions remain regarding the practical implementation of such a blanket ban.
Many tech companies already impose age restrictions on their platforms, yet officials and experts widely acknowledge that these measures are often circumvented by pre-teens, making them largely ineffective.
The measure represents one of the most far-reaching steps taken by any European Union The government will curb the use of social media among the youth, which is a growing global concern.
Denmark’s Minister for Digital Affairs Caroline Stage highlighted the widespread nature of online platforms among children, revealing that 94 percent of Danes under the age of 13 and more than half of those under the age of 10 already maintain a social media profile.
“The amount of time they spend online – the amount of violence, self-harm they are exposed to online – that is a huge risk to our children,” Ms Stage said.
He criticized the tech giants, saying, “They have absurd amounts of money available, but they are unwilling to invest in the safety of our children, unwilling to invest in the safety of all of us.”
No rush to make law, no loopholes for tech giants
Stage said the ban would not take effect immediately. It is likely to take several months for MPs allied with all political parties, who have a majority in Parliament, to pass relevant legislation on the issue.
“I can assure you that Denmark will hurry up, but we will not do it too quickly because we need to make sure that the regulation is right and there are no loopholes for tech giants,” Stage said. His ministry said the pressure on the tech giants’ business models was “enormous”.
This follows a move in December AustraliaWhere Parliament enacted the world’s first ban on social media for children – setting the minimum age at 16.
This also includes platforms tiktok, Facebooksnapchat, redditx and Instagram Fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) could be imposed for systemic failures to prevent children under 16 from having accounts.
Danish officials have not explained how such a ban would be enforced in a world where millions of children have easy access to screens.
But Stage noted that Denmark has a national electronic ID system – almost all Danish citizens over the age of 13 have such an ID – and plans to install an age-verification app. Several other EU countries are testing such apps.
“We can’t force tech giants to use our apps, but what we can do is force tech giants to do proper age verification, and if they don’t do that, we will be able to enforce through the EU Commission and make sure they are fined up to 6 percent of their global income.”
Its aim is to protect children from harmful content online
Many governments are grappling with ways to limit the harmful consequences of online technologies without reneging on their promises. Stage said Denmark’s legislative effort was “not about excluding children from everything digital” – but rather about keeping them away from harmful content.
China — the maker of many of the world’s digital devices — has set limits on online game time and smart-phone time for children.
in prosecutors paris An investigation into those allegations was announced this week tiktok Allows content that promotes suicide and its algorithms may encourage vulnerable youth to take their own lives.
“Children and youth have disrupted sleep, lose their peace and concentration and experience increased pressure from digital relationships where adults are not always present,” the Danish ministry said. “This is a development that no parent, teacher or educator can stop alone.”
The EU’s Digital Services Act, which took effect two years ago, prevents children under 13 from having accounts on social media, video sharing platforms like TikTok and Instagram. youtube And crampsAnd sites like Reddit and discordAlso AI companions.
Many social media platforms have for years banned anyone 13 years of age or younger from signing up for their services. TikTok users can verify their age by submitting a selfie which will be analyzed to estimate their age. The Meta platform, parent of Instagram and Facebook, says it uses a similar system for video selfies and AI to help detect a user’s age.
Meta and TikTok did not immediately respond to AP’s requests for comment.
Danish minister Stege said, “We have given the tech giants many opportunities to stand up and do something about what is happening on their platforms. They have not done so.” “So now we will take over the steering wheel and ensure that our children’s future is secure.”