Slovakia proposes social media ban for children under 16
Slovakia’s government has approved a bill that would prohibit children under 16 from creating social media accounts, with age verification required for users.
Slovakia’s government has approved a bill proposing to ban children under the age of 16 from using social networks. The legislation, which still requires parliamentary approval, would prevent younger users from creating social media accounts and introduce age verification requirements.
According to government documents accompanying the proposal, the measure aims to address risks associated with social media use, including addictive behaviour, social pressure, disinformation, radicalisation and exposure to harmful content.
The government cited research in psychology and neuroscience suggesting that children and younger adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to algorithmic recommendations and manipulative online practices while their identity, critical thinking, emotional regulation and social relationships are still developing.
Under the proposal, social media platforms would be required to verify a user’s age when an account is created. The government said the system should establish whether a user meets the minimum age requirement without giving platforms access to additional personal data. The verification criteria would follow relevant EU digital services rules.
