Norway has announced plans to increase the age limit for social-media use from 13 to 15 and to introduce much stricter controls, to address concerns about the influence of online activity on young users.
The Scandinavian country has intensified its campaign against tech giants' social media platforms, which, according to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, are “pitted against small children’s brains.” The new rules would also prevent tech companies such as Netflix and other streaming subscriptions from collecting personal data from minors under 15.
The measure seeks to protect children from the “power of algorithms,” Store explained.
The current minimum age limit to use social media in Norway is 13 but, despite this restriction, more than half of the country's nine-year-olds use social media, according to the state’s media authority.
“It sends quite a strong signal. Children must be protected from harmful content on social media,” Store told local news outlet VG on Wednesday.
“We know that this is an uphill battle, because there are strong forces here, but it is also where politics is needed.”
The initiative includes amending the Personal Data Act and implementing an age verification system for social media platforms, with the aim of safeguarding children from harmful online content.
While admitting that social media can offer lonely children a sense of community, the prime minister said it is also “misused by the industry” and warned against the dominance of algorithms over self-expression.
“It can cause children to become single-minded and pacified because everything happens so quickly on the screen,” Store said.
Families minister Kjersti Toppe added that the measure is aimed at supporting parents.
“Parents cannot stand alone in a battle with the technology giants. That is why we are considering stricter legislation,” she said, adding that it’s about “giving parents the confidence to say no. Many parents want to, but don’t feel able to.”
The move comes as several countries, including France, the US and Australia are also introducing regulations in a bid to reduce screen addiction and to protect minors from accessing inappropriate content.
Earlier this year 200 schools in France started testing a “digital break” that prevents students up to the age of 15 from using smartphones during school hours.
In Russia, similar restrictions went into effect in September, banning students from using their cellphones in schools, except for emergency situations involving a risk to health or to life.