Social media ban in Ukraine: are parliamentarians preparing relevant draft laws and will access for children be restricted following the example of Europe?
Kyiv • UNN
France is working on a bill to ban social media for children under 15, following the example of Australia and Denmark. In Ukraine, restrictions are only discussed at the level of ideas.
Europe is gradually considering banning children under 15 from accessing social media. France is already working on passing a bill. At the same time, in Ukraine, the idea of restricting teenagers' use of social networks is only being discussed at the conceptual level, and there are no draft decisions at the moment, writes UNN.
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As previously reported by UNN, Australia became the first country in the world to legally ban children under 16 from accessing social media. The new law blocks access to major platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, addressing young people in a video message, urged them to use their time free from social media for personal development.
Following Australia, Denmark announced plans to ban children under 15 from using social media, although parents will be able to grant access to certain social networks if they wish.
This move follows Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's call to restrict children's use of social media due to concerns about youth mental health.
Denmark intends to ban social media for children under 1507.11.25, 19:34 • 4857 views
Recently, on Monday, January 26, the National Assembly of France supported a bill to ban social media for children under 15. They are reportedly concerned about online bullying and risks to mental health.
The bill proposes to ban children under 15 from using social networks and their functionality embedded in broader platforms. At the same time, the public is concerned about the impact of social networks on minors.
The bill was supported by 116 deputies, with only 23 voting against. It has now been sent to the Senate before the final vote in the lower house.
French President Emmanuel Macron considers social media one of the factors responsible for violence among young people. He calls on France to follow the example of Australia, which was the first in the world to ban social platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.
Regarding the situation in Ukraine concerning social media restrictions for teenagers, UNN spoke with People's Deputy, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech Yaroslav Yurchyshyn.
As Yurchyshyn said, discussions about possible social media restrictions in Ukraine are only at the idea level, and there are no draft decisions at the moment.
He emphasized that, most likely, such a decision in Ukraine will require legislative formalization, as is happening in Denmark and France.
That is, these are additional requirements for social networks to establish age verification, and then, either through a parental control system or some other mechanism, such verification is carried out accordingly. But since this changes the nature of the relationship between the state and social networks, the state additionally establishes requirements for social networks operating in the Ukrainian Internet space, and, accordingly, this will require legislative changes. The most realistic option is that we will simply wait until such restrictions come into force throughout the European Union.
According to him, discussions about restricting social media for children are already taking place at the level of the European Parliament.
Then it will become mandatory for Ukraine, as part of European regulation, but at the moment this is still a distant prospect. There are no bills in the Verkhovna Rada that would introduce such an additional obligation for social networks.
In general, according to him, the sentiments among parliamentarians regarding possible restrictions are quite different, as this concerns the younger generation. At the same time, against the background of decisions by Western countries, this is perceived as a sufficiently interesting step. But one should not forget, the people's deputy emphasized, how carefully Ukrainian society treats its freedom, and therefore in this case there is a position that this will be a restriction of certain rights.
The people's deputy also emphasized that such restrictions can indeed be effective in protecting the psychological health of children, just as, at one time, restrictions on children buying alcohol, tobacco, or accessing gambling worked.
Such an interesting position… we do not allow the sale of alcohol and tobacco to children in person, but they can easily buy it through social networks. A similar story with access to the gambling business. Therefore, there are different positions.
Therefore, for now, the idea remains at the discussion level. But, according to Yurchyshyn himself, in Ukraine, social networks have another risk for children, which is less influential in Europe.
We understand that we have an additional risk, which is less prevalent in Europe, namely the use of social networks by the aggressor country, in particular for recruiting our children. We would like to activate this discussion, but we are still at the level we are at. We are monitoring what is happening in other countries.
Regarding the technical ban on social networks for a certain category of minors, there are possible options. For example, separating social networks and messengers - to leave an additional channel for communication, including with parents. However, then the question arises regarding Telegram, as it combines both functions.
Another option is the path YouTube took, which is to create a separate section on the resource.
A good example in this case is the social network YouTube, which specifically created, of course, through parental verification, a separate section for children - YouTube Kids, which does not provide access to adult content. This issue was resolved by the network itself. That is, theoretically, the same requirements could be developed for Viber, which could create Viber Kids through parental control, which would not allow, for example, unknown, unconfirmed contacts to send photos or videos… a simpler mechanism for sending complaints in case of bullying, etc.
At the same time, he emphasized that it will be easier for Ukraine to find adequate solutions when there is a pan-European approach, because then social networks will be more willing to take such a step, despite the fact that it is a large market.
In addition, the parliamentarian added that a softer form is much better than simply banning social networks.
If we restrict children under 15 from using certain functions, for example, adult content, it is much easier to perceive than when we say: "Just don't use social networks." It is very likely that as a result of the discussion in the European Union, a technological solution will be found that will allow the creation of special children's formats for using social networks. That is, up to a certain age, one level of access, and after reaching 15-16 years, another level of access opens, which does not require parental approval and the like.
He adds that in any case, in the final version, whatever mechanisms are established, the responsibility for what children use, or whether they circumvent these rules, lies primarily with the parents.