• Parental consent required for children to use social networks in Portugal
• The law protects children from violence, addictive games, and manipulated content

The Portuguese Parliament approved a bill limiting access for children under 16 to social media, making the country the latest to introduce such restrictions.

The new law requires parental or legal guardian consent before children can use these platforms.

It sets the minimum age for independent access to social networks, video-sharing services, and open communication platforms at 16, while children aged 13–16 may use them only with explicit, verified parental consent.

Restrictions apply to platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, but not to apps like WhatsApp, widely used by parents to communicate with their children.

The law also obliges companies and platforms to implement protection mechanisms for children aged 13–16, preventing exposure to violence, addictive games, and manipulated videos or images.

Creating a new account for children under 13 is prohibited, while accounts for ages 13–16 must use a mechanism linked to the digital key or another method that verifies age without revealing identity.

For enforcement, Social Democrat MPs say the National Communications Authority (Anacom) and the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) are responsible for oversight.

During the parliamentary session, opposition parties raised concerns about privacy, data collection, and potential VPN use by minors to bypass restrictions, while some MPs opposed the law, calling it an attempt to limit freedoms, according to MP Madalena Cordeira.

The decision comes amid growing concern over social media’s impact on children’s mental health and development, as several countries debate stricter access rules.

Australia previously passed a law limiting social media use for under-16s, requiring platforms to implement effective age-verification mechanisms.

In Europe, similar legislative efforts are rising: France and Denmark have laws for under-15s, Italy and Spain are reviewing proposals, while Slovenia, Greece, and Germany are preparing comparable restrictions.