Norway's prime minister proposes ban on social media access for young teens

Norway’s prime minister said Friday that his office plans to release a bill that would ban children under 16 from using social media by the end of the year.

The bill will include language that holds big tech accountable for using age verification tools to block young users, according to a statement from Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

European countries have recently embraced social media restrictions with several government officials across the continent pledging to implement bans.

The Norwegian government proposes allowing children to begin using social media on January 1 of the year they turn 16.

Støre is a member of the Labour party, which does not hold a majority in the Norwegian parliament so it is unclear if the bill will become law. The legislation will be introduced before the end of the year, according to a Støre press release. 

“We are introducing this legislation because we want a childhood where children get to be children,” Støre said in a statement. “Play, friendships, and everyday life must not be taken over by algorithms and screens. This is an important measure to safeguard children’s digital lives.”

Earlier this month, the French Senate voted to implement a social media ban for children under 15. Final details for that bill still need to be negotiated with the French National Assembly. It has received strong support from French President Emmanuel Macron, who has said that children' s emotions should not be “for sale or manipulated by American platforms and Chinese algorithms.”

The European Union also has been working toward implementing a social media ban for young teens..

In February, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that his government would block children aged 15 and under from accessing social media. The Dutch government also said in February that it wants to set a minimum age of 15 for social media use.

The British government has been conducting a pilot program with hundreds of families to test a variety of social media restrictions as part of a public consultation on whether and how to limit the harmful effects social media can have on young teens.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been a strong advocate for a ban and has said that “being a child should not be about constant judgement from strangers or the pressure to perform for likes.”