Denmark's government aims to ban access to social media for children
under 15
[November 08, 2025] By
JAMEY KEATEN
Denmark’s government on Friday announced an agreement to ban access to
social media for anyone under 15, ratcheting up pressure on Big Tech
platforms as concerns grow that kids are getting too swept up in a
digitized world of harmful content and commercial interests.
The move would give some parents — after a specific assessment — the
right to let their children access social media from age 13. It wasn't
immediately clear how such a ban would be enforced: Many tech platforms
already restrict pre-teens from signing up. Officials and experts say
such restrictions don't always work.
Such a measure would be among the most sweeping steps yet by a European
Union government to limit use of social media among teens and younger
children, which has drawn concerns in many parts of an increasingly
online world.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Caroline Stage, Denmark's minister for
digital affairs, said 94% of Danish children under age 13 have profiles
on at least one social media platform, and more than half of those under
10 do.
“The amount of time they spend online — the amount of violence,
self-harm that they are exposed to online — is simply too great a risk
for our children,” she said, while praising tech giants as “the greatest
companies that we have. They have an absurd amount of money available,
but they’re simply not willing to invest in the safety of our children,
invest in the safety of all of us.”
No rush to legislation, no loopholes for tech giants
Stage said a ban won’t take effect immediately. Allied lawmakers on the
issue from across the political spectrum who make up a majority in
parliament will likely take months to pass relevant legislation.
"I can assure you that Denmark will hurry, but we won’t do it too
quickly because we need to make sure that the regulation is right and
that there is no loopholes for the tech giants to go through," Stage
said. Her ministry said pressure from tech giants’ business models was
“too massive.”
It follows a move in December in Australia, where parliament enacted the
world’s first ban on social media for children — setting the minimum age
at 16.
That made platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and
Instagram subject to fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33
million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from
holding accounts.
Officials in Denmark didn't say how such a ban would be enforced in a
world where millions of children have easy access to screens. But Stage
noted that Denmark has a national electronic ID system — nearly all
Danish citizens over age 13 have such an ID — and plans to set up an
age-verification app. Several other EU countries are testing such apps.
“We cannot force the tech giants to use our app, but what we can do is
force the tech giants to make proper age verification, and if they
don’t, we will be able to enforce through the EU commission and make
sure that they will be fined up to 6% of their global income.”
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Caroline Stage, Danish Minister for Digitalization and
representatives from the agreement parties attends a press
conference about a new political agreement for better protection of
children and young people online, in Copenhagen, Friday, Nov. 7,
2025. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
 Aiming to shield kids from
harmful content online
Many governments have been grappling with ways of limiting harmful
fallout from online technologies, without overly squelching their
promise. Stage said Denmark's legislative push was “not about
excluding children from everything digital” — but keeping them away
from harmful content.
China — which manufacturers many of the world's digital devices —
has set limits on online game time and smart-phone time for kids.
Prosecutors in Paris this week announced an investigation into
allegations that TikTok allows content promoting suicide and that
its algorithms may encourage vulnerable young people to take their
own lives.
“Children and young people have their sleep disrupted, lose their
peace and concentration, and experience increasing pressure from
digital relationships where adults are not always present,” the
Danish ministry said. “This is a development that no parent, teacher
or educator can stop alone.”
The EU's Digital Services Act, which took effect two years ago,
forbids children younger than 13 to hold accounts on social media
like TikTok and Instagram, video sharing platforms like YouTube and
Twitch, and sites like Reddit and Discord, as well as AI companions.
Many social media platforms have for years banned anyone 13 or under
from signing up for their services. TikTok users can verify their
ages by submitting a selfie that will be analyzed to estimate their
age. Meta Platforms, parent of Instagram and Facebook, says it uses
a similar system for video selfies and AI to help figure out a
user's age.
TikTok said in an email that it recognizes the importance of
Denmark's initiative.
“At TikTok, we have steadfastly created a robust trust and safety
track record, with more than 50 preset safety features for teen
accounts, as well as age appropriate experiences and tools for
guardians such as Family Pairing," a tool allowing parents,
guardians, and teens to customize safety settings.
We look forward to working constructively on solutions that apply
consistently across the industry,” it added.
Meta didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment from the AP.
“We’ve given the tech giants so many chances to stand up and to do
something about what is happening on their platforms. They haven’t
done it," said Stage, the Danish minister. “So now we will take over
the steering wheel and make sure that our children’s futures are
safe.”
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AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan contributed to this report.
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