In brief: The number of countries banning children from using social media continues to grow. The next to join the list will likely be Norway, which will present a bill to parliament stopping under-16s from accessing the platforms. It will also make companies responsible for introducing robust age-verification tools to ensure they comply with the law.
Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the legislation was being introduced to ensure "a childhood where children get to be children."
"Play, friendships, and everyday life must not be taken over by algorithms and screens," he added. "This is an important measure to safeguard children's digital lives."
The minority Labour government added that the bill will be introduced to parliament by the end of 2026.
Australia became the first democratic country to impose age-based social media restrictions in December, passing bipartisan legislation that sets a mandatory minimum age of 16 to open and operate social media accounts.
Since the Australian ban, France, Indonesia, Austria, Spain, Turkey, Denmark, Malaysia, Greece, Poland, and Slovenia have introduced similar social media restrictions or are considering them.
One country struggling to introduce a ban is the UK. MPs voted 260 to 161 against a Lords amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill this week that would have forced platforms deemed harmful to raise their access age to 16 within 12 months.
Ministers argue that a consultation, rather than an immediate ban, is the better route, with the government instead favoring more flexible powers that could include curfews, scrolling limits, location-sharing restrictions, or targeted blocks on specific services and features. The consultation, which closes May 26, is also looking beyond traditional social media to cover risks from gaming, messaging services, and AI chatbots.
One of the problems with these types of bans is their questionable effectiveness. Earlier this month, a study by the UK-based suicide prevention charity Molly Rose Foundation found that 61%, or three in five, Australian 12- to 15-year-olds who had accounts on restricted platforms before the ban came into force still had access to one or more accounts.
Several US states have already introduced their own age-related social media bans or restrictions. It's long been assumed that a nationwide ban would never happen, but the prospect has become more likely following the social media addiction lawsuit in which Meta was found liable for harming children.
Norway set to become the next country to ban under-16s from social media
