On November 7, Denmark outlined new regulations prohibiting social media access for children under the age of 15. The initiative follows a similar measure implemented by the Australian parliament in December 2024, which limited social media usage to teens over 16. But, in terms of the European Union, Denmark’s government is leading the charge, presenting one of the EU’s most ambitious plans to curtail social media usage among younger generations.
In discussing the new legislation, Caroline Stage, Denmark’s minister for digital affairs, cites that 94% of Danish children under the age of 13 are active on at least one social media platform, such as Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. On top of that alarming statistic, Stage claims that more than half of Danes under 10 years old also maintain social media profiles. The country’s landmark measure seeks to address growing concerns surrounding poor mental health in children, mitigating exposure to harmful content, bullying, exploitation, and other cyber crimes across the Internet.
“The amount of time they spend online, the amount of violence, self-harm that they are exposed to online, is simply too great a risk for our children,” Stage asserts, before criticizing tech giants. “They have an absurd amount of money available, but they’re simply not willing to invest in the safety of our children, invest in the safety of all of us.”
The Danish ministry echoes the sentiment, stating, “Children and young people have their sleep disrupted, lose their peace and concentration, and experience increasing pressure from digital relationships where adults are not always present. This is a development that no parent, teacher, or educator can stop alone.”
It’s not clear how Denmark intends to enforce these new regulations, especially in a world where screens are ubiquitous and when social media platforms already have their own restrictions in place. Many platforms, for example, have already banned children under 13 from accessing their services. TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are among those currently incorporating AI in an effort to verify user ages based on selfies. Even so, these procedures aren’t always effective, thus requiring an additional layer of protection. Stage hints at employing the country’s national ID system, in which nearly all Danish citizens over the age of 13 participate. An age-verification app based on this system could offer a possible solution.
“We cannot force tech giants to use our app,” Stage explains, “but what we can do is force the tech giants to make proper age verification, and if they don’t, we will be able to enforce through the EU commission and make sure that they will be fined up to 6% of their global income.”
As part of the legislation, parents can grant their 13- and 14-year-old teens access to social media after completing a specific assessment. More details have yet to be released by the Danish government.
“We’ve given the tech giants so many chances to stand up and to do something about what is happening on their platforms. They haven’t done it,” Stage concludes. “So now we will take over the steering wheel and make sure that our children’s futures are safe.”
Denmark has announced a landmark initiative that will ban social media access for children under the age of 15.
Sources: Another country agrees to ban social media for children under 15; Denmark’s government aims to ban access to social media for children under 15; Denmark set to ban social media platforms for children under 15; Banning Social Media
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