The government is considering legislation against children on social media. The government is investigating the possibility of using contract law to ensure that children cannot create profiles on social media without parental consent, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (Socialdemokratiet) informed Politiken. This initiative aims to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of social media.
“The government will challenge the tech giants’ unscrupulous business practices. It is about protecting our children and young people from being trapped in rabbit holes that steal their time and expose them to content they should not see,” says Hummelgaard.
Today, children and young people are already prevented from entering into legally binding agreements under the guardianship law, such as taking out loans or setting up mobile subscriptions without parental consent. The government has now asked officials to investigate whether this law can be extended to also cover the creation of profiles on social media.
Although social media platforms’ own guidelines typically require users to be 13 years old to create a profile, data from Politiken shows that more than half of Danish children have used at least one social media platform, excluding YouTube, before they turn ten. This is partly because the creation of profiles often only requires a simple consent declaration, which can easily be circumvented.
A complaint from Børns Vilkår (Children’s Conditions) to the Data Protection Agency brought the issue to the government’s attention. As of January 1st, the data protection law was changed so that companies must first process personal data about children with the child’s consent when they turn 15, instead of 13. However, social media companies such as Snapchat and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, have told Politiken that they will not enforce this age limit and refer to the data protection law.
This lack of enforcement has caused confusion for Børns Vilkår, as the new law specifically defines when children can enter into contracts without parental or guardian consent.