Denmark is to ban mobile phones in schools and after-school clubs on the recommendation of a government commission that also found that children under 13 should not have their own smartphone or tablet.
The announcement marks a U-turn by the government, which had previously refused to introduce such a law.
It comes as governments across Europe are trying to impose tighter regulations on children’s access to phones and social media.
The Danish wellbeing commission was set up by the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in 2023 to investigate growing dissatisfaction among children and young people.
Among its 35 recommendations was the need for government legislation banning phones from schools and after-school clubs.
“Suddenly, screens were everywhere in school, and it was only afterwards that we started discussing the consequences,” he said.
The chair of the commission, Rasmus Meyer, compared the mobile phone ban to not allowing smoking in schools and said that the moment a child is given a smartphone “it will colonise the child’s entire life”. »
