The Daily Populous Wednesday October 8th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by straitstimes.com and submitted by Silly-avocatoe

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Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen did not specify which social media networks would fall under the ban, nor how it would work in practice.

COPENHAGEN - Denmark said Oct 7 it planned to introduce a social media ban for children under the age of 15.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen did not specify which social media networks would fall under the ban, nor how it would work in practice, as she announced the initiative in a speech to parliament at the opening of its autumn session.

The bill, the timeline of which remains unspecified, would authorise parents to let their child use social media from the age of 13.

“The cell phone and social media are robbing our children of their childhood,” Ms Frederiksen said, arguing that 60 per cent of Danish boys aged 11 to 19 preferred to stay home over spending time with friends.

Australia has been a leader in global efforts to prevent internet harm among young people.

In late 2024, its parliament adopted a ban on social media for under-16s, though there are still almost no details on how the measure would be enforced.

Platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube fall under the Australian ban’s remit.

And in June, Greece proposed setting an “age of digital adulthood” across the 27-country European Union, meaning children would not be able to access social media without parental consent. AFP

trunolimit on October 7th, 2025 at 21:02 UTC »

Let’s ban it for people over 60 too

hihowubduin on October 7th, 2025 at 16:31 UTC »

Exactly how is this gonna be enforced? Realistically the only way social media companies could be in compliance is forcing every single person to verify their age, which great now you have an online database of every user in the country that totally is secure and totally won't be used by the government for censorship.

This is trying to solve a parenting issue with technology in the absolute worst way possible. You know how you keep kids off it?

"The fuckin parents should be raising their kids, using already existing parental controls*

the68thdimension on October 7th, 2025 at 16:16 UTC »

> Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen did not specify which social media networks would fall under the ban, nor how it would work in practice.

I'm in principle in accord, but the devil is in the details. Especially if this means age controls that require an ID check, which is ripe for surveillance and privacy breaches.

Are chat apps allowed? What about online games with chat rooms and ways to be 'friends' with people? What about online forums? What about comment sections? What about streaming platforms? Or image or video sharing platforms, like Youtube? I used all those before the age of 15, but admittedly that was in the 90's and 2000's when the internet was far more innocent. It's the algorithmically-driven, endless-scrolling, ad-infested, engagement baiting, content machines that are the real issue, IMHO.