• Denmark unveils plan to ban children under 15 from social media
• Implementation may take time before officially enforced

The Danish government announced a plan to restrict access to social media platforms for children under the age of 15, amid concerns about exposure to harmful content and commercial influences.

Under the plan, after a special assessment, some parents may allow their children to use social media starting from age 13.

However, the exact method of enforcing the ban remains unclear, as most platforms already impose restrictions on child sign-ups, which are rarely strictly applied.

This measure is considered one of the boldest steps in the European Union to limit social media use among teens and younger children, amid growing concerns over the negative effects of excessive usage.

Digital Affairs Minister Caroline Stage stated that 94% of Danish children under 13 have at least one social media account, and more than half of children under 10 do as well.

She added: “The time children spend online — and the violent or self-harm content they are exposed to — poses a significant risk,” noting that “major tech companies have enormous resources, yet they do not invest enough in protecting our children.”

The minister clarified that the ban will not be applied immediately, as legislative approval is expected to take several months.

This move follows a similar action in Australia, where last December the world’s first ban was imposed on social media use for those under 16, with fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars for violating companies.

Although the Danish government has not revealed details on enforcement mechanisms, the minister pointed out that the country has a national electronic ID system for most citizens over 13, along with plans to develop an age-verification app, similar to what other European countries are testing.