Norway will impose a strict minimum social media age limit of 15 as the government steps up its campaign against tech companies which it says “target the brains of young children”.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre admitted it would be “an uphill battle” but said politicians must intervene to protect children from the “power of algorithms.”
Social media platforms, the Labor leader said, were being misused by the industry and could make users “resolute and pacified”.
The Scandinavian country already has a minimum age limit of 13 years. Despite this, more than half of nine-year-olds, 58% of 10-year-olds and 72% of 11-year-olds are on social media, according to research by the Norwegian media authority.
The government has pledged to introduce more safeguards to prevent children from circumventing age restrictions, including amending the Personal Data Law so that social media users must be 15 years old to agree that the platform can handle their data. personal data and the development of an age verification system. Barrier for social networks.
“This sends a pretty strong signal,” the prime minister told VG newspaper on Wednesday. “Children must be protected from harmful content on social media. It’s about big tech giants pitted against the brains of little kids. We know that this is an uphill battle, because there are strong forces here, but it is also where politics is needed.”
While he said he understood that social media could offer a community to lonely children, self-expression should not be in the power of algorithms. “On the contrary, it can make one become determined and peaceful, because everything happens so quickly on this screen,” he added.
Children and Family Minister Kjersti Toppe met in Stavanger with parents campaigning for stricter online regulation for children and said the move was also aimed at helping parents. “It’s also about giving parents the confidence to say no. “We know that many people really want to say no, but they don’t feel like they can.”
He said the government was investigating methods to enforce these types of restrictions that did not interfere with human rights, such as the requirement for a bank account.
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Australia has also announced a social media ban for teenagers and younger children, saying it would block children from social media and other digital platforms. The age limit has not yet been decided but is likely to be between 14 and 16 years old.
France is testing a ban on mobile phones in schools for pupils up to 15 years old. If successful, it could be introduced nationwide as early as January.