Denmark to Ban Social Media for Children Under 15 Years

The Danish PM warned that online culture is ’stealing childhood' and proposed a law change similar to those of Australia and Norway

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks at a news conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Nov. 8, 2021.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said her government will ban social media use for children under the age of 15, telling lawmakers that online culture has “unleashed a monster” epidemic of depression and anxiety in young people.

Frederiksen announced the proposal during her speech on Oct. 7 at the opening of the Folketing, the Danish Parliament, accusing internet giants and mobile phone use of “stealing ... children’s childhood.”

She did not specify which social networks the new measures would target but said they would cover “several” social media platforms.

Denmark follows in the footsteps of its Nordic neighbor Norway, which has proposed a similar law, and Australia, which is set to introduce a ban for under-16s in December.

It may not be a blanket ban. Frederiksen suggested there could be an option for parents to give their children permission to use social media from the age of 13.

Most social media platforms have an age minimum of 13 years, but Frederiksen’s speech cited research indicating that 94 percent of Danish children had profiles on social media sites before they reached their teens.

The prime minister also cited figures that found that 60 percent of boys aged between 11 and 19 did not see a single friend in their free time.

‘Digital Captivity’

Danish Minister of Digitalization Caroline Stage said in a statement, “We’ve been too naive.”

“We’ve left children’s digital lives to platforms that never had their well-being in mind. We must move from digital captivity to community,” she said.

“Our children and young people have been pieces in a gigantic experiment where algorithms and addictive functions have been allowed to manage their everyday lives. It stops now.

“That is why we will now introduce a national age limit of 15 years. It’s about children’s well-being. About their freedom. And about the right to a childhood that is not controlled by notifications and likes, but by curiosity and healthy communities.”

Denmark’s next parliamentary election must be held before Nov. 1, 2026, meaning that if the proposed bill does not become law before then, it could end up being shelved with a change in government. Frederiksen leads a coalition government of parties from both the left and right wings of the political spectrum.

New European Commission guidelines on the protection of minors have made it possible for Denmark to set a national age limit for the use of social media.

Norway is not a member of the European Union, and the country’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store, has said he plans to raise the legal minimum age at which children can use social media from 13 to 15.

Australia’s Ban

Australia will introduce a world-first ban on platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube for under-16s by the end of the year, following the passage of a law in November 2024.

The ban will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram liable for fines of up to $50 million ($32.6 million) for failing to prevent children below that age threshold from holding accounts.

The legislation is not without controversy, with digital rights groups arguing that age verification for online content raises major concerns about privacy, data protection, and proportionality.

Digital Rights Watch has also voiced its objections to social media giants’ gaining access to more data on Australians, while some experts have argued that the law is unenforceable.

Google has threatened to sue the Australian government over the inclusion of YouTube in the country’s ban.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at an informal summit in the Danish Parliament at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, on Oct. 1, 2025.

EU-Wide Push

Following a stabbing at a middle school in June, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he would push for an EU-wide social media ban for children under the age of 15.

Macron said that if Brussels could not be moved to implement such a ban, he would institute one in France, arguing that social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people.

Elsewhere in the EU, lawmakers in countries including Spain and Greece have argued for an age of “digital majority.”

The UK has passed the Online Safety Act, which stops short of a social media age ban and instead requires platforms to use more robust age verification methods to enforce their own age restrictions and to provide users with an “age-appropriate” experience.

New Zealand is considering similar laws, as is the Canadian province of Quebec.

In the United States, Utah passed legislation that requires parental consent for minors to join social media platforms, mandates age verification, prohibits targeted ads to minors, and imposes a curfew on use without a parental waiver.

Legislation that would have banned anyone under the age of 18 from using or creating social media accounts in Texas stalled in May after lawmakers failed to vote on it.

California is also set to make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent, beginning in 2027.

Florida passed a similar law 2024 banning social media accounts for children under the age of 14 and requiring parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds, but a federal judge barred state officials from enforcing it while a legal challenge continues.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/denmark-to-ban-social-media-for-children-under-15-years-5926921?ea_src=ca-frontpage&ea_med=medium-3