This is how the Minister of Education (L) wants to restrict social media for children

Australia yesterday became the first in the world to vote through an age limit of 16 for social media.
In Sweden, the Liberals are one of the parliamentary parties that also want to limit children and young people’s access to social media.
– The social media companies’ business concept is based on children becoming addicted, says Lotta Edholm (L), Minister of Education and Member of Parliament, in Nyhetsmorgon.

More and more countries are considering banning social media for children and young people. Last in line is Australia, where the parliament yesterday was the first in the world to vote through an age limit of 16 years to create or have accounts on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

In Sweden, the Liberals are proposing stricter legislation with an age limit of 15 for those who want to start, for example, their own TikTok account. Education Minister Lotta Edholm (L) advocates Norway’s model, where parents must approve children getting social media accounts. In addition, she wants mobile phones to be banned in school.

– Children and young people spend far too much time in front of screens. A normal 14-year-old in Sweden sits in front of a screen for six and a half hours a day outside of school hours. It is a full-time job for them to sit in front of their screen. It has enormous consequences for mental and physical ill-health, says Lotta Edholm (L) in Nyhetsmorgon.

Today’s age limit for most social media is 13 in accordance with the EU’s data protection regulation, but this is not something that is followed today.

– Parents must take a greater responsibility than they do today. But they can’t, because the age limits that actually exist are not even tried to be followed.

The arguments against a ban

Little Current have reported that L, KD, S and SD are positive about introducing a law with an age limit for social media. The other parties, M, C, V and MP, however, do not agree that legislation is needed.

Riksdag member Niels Paarup-Petersen, the Center’s spokesperson on digitization issues, agrees on the problems with screens and social media. But not on how it should be solved. He highlights that Australia and Norway find it difficult to actually implement a ban in practice.

– We don’t want a team that pretends to solve the problem, but instead do things that actually solve the problem. By helping parents get the tools needed to take the calls and learn how to limit the use of phones. In Norway, 90 percent of 12-year-olds are still on social media, even though there is a law that says they cannot be under 13, he says, adding:

– It is tricking parents into a false sense of security.