Denmark imposes age checks to restrict social media to kids under 15

Welcome two more Europeans nations to the global age assurance legislation party.

The Danish government is moving ahead with an age restriction on select social media platforms for kids under 15 years of age. And Austria is setting a similar path.

“Denmark is now leading the way in Europe with a national age limit for social media and a concerted effort to strengthen the digital wellbeing of children and young people,” says Danish Digitalization Minister Caroline Stage, as quoted in DW. “We are taking a necessary stand against a development where large tech platforms have had free rein in children’s rooms for far too long.”

The ministry has not specified which social platforms the law will cover. But it is likely to be in keeping with the Australian model, which focuses on the largest – Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, Snapchat and the like.

Denmark will allow exceptions if parents believe their child should have access to social media earlier than 15, but the baseline for access will be 13.

The government is also looking to allocate 160 million Danish kroner (about $24.8 million) to a program of child online safety initiatives. Per DW, funds will be allocated to support the development of alternative social media platforms.

The government of Greece also announced this week it will require age verification for social media use while pushing for an EU-wide approach to the age restrictions.

‘Addicted, ill’ kids need intervention: Austria

In Austria, the coalition government is laying plans to prohibit social media for children aged under 14. The BBC quotes vice-chancellor Andreas Babler of the Social Democrat party, who says the government has a responsibility to act on platforms that are making kids “addicted and also often ill.”

The EU has been expressing interest in age check legislation covering social media since last year, when Australia broke the global legislative ice with its Social Media Minimum Age Act, put into effect in December 2010. Its regulatory bodies are now well into a crackdown on pornographic websites, in an attempt to try and limit kids’ exposure to sexually explicit content – in part through the deployment of privacy-preserving biometric age assurance technology.

Article Topics

age verification  |  Austria  |  children  |  Denmark  |  Europe  |  regulation  |  social media