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‘The world is watching’: Denmark follows Australia’s youth social media ban
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‘The world is watching’: Denmark follows Australia’s youth social media ban

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said it is “important” for the country ban on social mediawhich starts on December 10, is successful as Denmark takes its first steps towards a minimum age requirement.
The Danish government has announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15.
The measures would set that age limit for access to social media, but give some parents – after a specific assessment – ​​the right to give permission for their children to access social media from the age of 13.
With Australia’s world’s first ban just weeks away, Albanese told the ABC on Friday, ahead of Denmark’s announcement, that “the world is watching what we do here.”
“It’s important that this is a success,” he said.

Denmark’s announcement comes as Australia’s eSafety Commissioner joined a pledge with the EU and the UK to work together to ensure children’s safety online.

Denmark’s ban

Under the Australian ban, platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit,
Denmark’s proposal, which would set the minimum age at 15 instead of 16, would be one of the most dramatic steps yet by a European government to address concerns about social media use among teenagers and younger children.

“As one of the first countries in the EU, Denmark is now taking a groundbreaking step towards introducing age limits on social media. This is done to protect children and young people in the digital world,” the Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs said in a statement.

A coalition of parties on both the right and left of politics “makes it clear that children should not be left alone in a digital world where harmful content and commercial interests are too much part of shaping their daily lives and childhoods.”
Children and young people are disturbed in their sleep, lose their concentration and experience increasing pressure from digital relationships where adults are not always present, the statement said.

‘Finally we draw a line in the sand’ This is what Minister of Digital Affairs Caroline Stage says.

Joining forces with Great Britain and Europe

The eSafety Commissioner has made a joint pledge with the European Commission and UK media regulator Ofcom to work together to improve children’s safety online.
As part of that pledge, they have committed to a technical “trilateral age assurance cooperation group,” which will look at sharing technology and best practices when it comes to enforcing minimum ages online.
With just one month to go before Australia’s ban takes effect, Reddit and Kick were added this week added to the list of platforms subject to the ban, with the inclusion of streaming platform Twitch still being considered.

According to the eSafety Commissioner, chat platform Discord will not be included in the ban. Source: MONKEY / Mateusz Slodkowski

Meanwhile, Discord, GitHub, LEGO Play, Roblox, Steam and Steam Chat, Google Classroom, WhatsApp and YouTube Kids have been confirmed exempt from the ban.

Albanese told the ABC on Friday that tech platforms are “engaged” with the government on how to implement the ban.
Albanians said they expect compliance, but they want social media companies to “do their best to comply with the law.”
“This is not a debate that comes from the government making a decision and telling the community that this is what needs to be done. This is the demand of the community an appropriate response at government level.”
With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.

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