5 countries with some form of social media ban for children

Australia may have been the first country to pass a social media ban bill to stop children under 16 from accessing the platforms, but it’s not the first to try something like this, and it’s likely not the last.

In case you’ve missed it: in November 2024, the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, proposed legislation that bans those under 16 from having access to social media platforms, and if they fail to comply, the social media companies will be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars (US$3.28 million).

It’s predicted to be a hard rule to follow, and an even harder rule to implement, but some countries have tried and succeeded (or failed) to a certain extent: 

Everyone’s on their phone nonstop nowadays, so perhaps the idea of a social media ban can sound novel. Source: AFP

What other country has a nationwide social media ban for children?

On June 29, 2023, a new French law requiring social media platforms to verify user age and obtain parental consent for those under 15 was enacted. This was part of the French government’s plan to reduce children’s screen time and protect them from cyberbullying and other crimes.

Like Australia, France will financially penalise the social media companies if the law is breached. The penalty is a fine of up to 1% of the company’s global revenues.

Most recently, following the school stabbing by a 14-year-old student of a 31-year-old school aide on June 10, 2025, Macron has announced that he plans to implement a social media ban for under-15s in France. 

Some governments are warming up to the idea of a social media ban or upping the parental consent required for kids to create an account. Source: AFP

3 more countries that have existing social media bans or limitations in place

Spain

On June 4, 2024, Spain’s government approved the draft law that the age of data protection consent for children to own social media accounts was raised from 14 to 16. 

Other things included in the draft include implementing a prison sentence for those who engage in deepfakes (images, videos, or audio that have been edited or generated using artificial intelligence) and banning under-18s from accessing games with “loot boxes,” in-game purchases that open a surprise prize that more often than not, leads to disappointment and more purchases.  

Norway

Following the footsteps of Spain, Norway was last reported to be in the midst of getting its age of parental consent for children to create social media accounts from 13 to 15 back in October 2024.

There haven’t been any updates yet, but with research from the Norwegian Media Authority showing that more than half of nine-year-olds, 58% of 10-year-olds and 72% of 11-year-olds are on social media, millions of accounts could be affected.  

Italy

Sometime in 2018, Italy passed a law that states those under-14s must seek parental consent before they sign up for social media accounts.

There have been no updates since then, and no known penalty on the social media platforms if the law is breached. 

There’s no telling what the outcome of a blanket social media ban will be. Source: AFP

A European Union-level effort…or not

Currently, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation — the strongest privacy and security law in the world — states that member countries can set the minimum user age of consent for platforms to process their data as long as it is over 13. However, the data can still be processed if parents give their consent.

Several countries have chosen to set this limit at the minimum age of 13. So, 13-year-olds in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, and Sweden can consent to having their data processed by platforms without parental consent.

It’s not something Macron is too happy about.

In May 2025, France and Spain teamed up to lead an initiative to ban minors under the age of 15 from accessing social media throughout the European Union (EU). The goal was simple: have social media platforms implement stricter age verification systems under threat of penalties.

This is easier said than done, though.

“Let’s be clear … [a] wide social media ban is not what the European Commission is doing. It’s not where we are heading to. Why? Because this is the prerogative of our member states,” said European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier.

While the European Commission can’t force the hands of all of its member countries, it can tighten the leash on social media platforms through the Digital Services Act (DSA), a regulation that centralises supervisory powers for major platforms and allows the EU’s executive arm to better protect minors.

Beyond working on EU-wide guidelines for how platforms can comply with the DSA on minors’ protection, the European Commission is also working on an age verification mobile app that allows users to verify whether they are over 18, without disclosing their exact age. This is set to be trialled by five countries: Spain, France, Greece, Denmark, and Italy.