Australia became the first country to ban the use of social media platforms by children aged 16 and under late last year. Since then, an increasing number of countries have considered similar measures, based on concerns about the perceived negative effects of excessive use of these networks by young people.
Later this year, the UK may implement a similar ban on under-16s, including closing the loophole that allowed some AI chatbots to fall outside safety rules.
The UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 is one of the strictest safety regimes in the world, but it does not cover individual interactions with AI chatbots unless they share information with other users. This is the loophole that Technology Minister Liz Kendall hopes to close following a public consultation that was opened by the government last month.
Continues after advertising
“I’m concerned about these AI chatbots… as is the Prime Minister, because of the impact they are having on children and young people,” said Kendall, in an interview with Times Radio, claiming that some children are forming one-on-one relationships with AI systems that were not designed with child safety in mind.
Also read:
At the beginning of February, the Spanish government also announced that it plans to ban access to social media for under 16s and platforms will be required to implement age verification systems. which repeatedly complained about the proliferation of hate speech, pornographic content and misinformation on social media, stating that this has negative effects on young people.
In Germany, the issue managed to unite parliamentarians from the center-left Social Democratic Party and right-wing conservative parties to draft a bill that would prevent the use of social networks by children under 14 years of age.
While in France, a proposed law approved by the National Assembly prohibits the use of social networks by children under 15 years of age. Greece and Slovenia are also evaluating restriction measures for minors.
Also read:
Continues after advertising
Global pressure
The attention of governments around the world on the uses and potential negative effects of social networks intensified even more after the AI chatbot Grok, from Elon Musk’s company, generated sexualized images mainly of women and girls without consent.
In Brazil, the government is preparing rules that prohibit young people from accessing gambling, pornography and similar content online, moving forward with new restrictions approved in 2025. The rules would require app stores and platforms to implement age verification measures to block minors from accessing inappropriate content on the internet, according to a draft decree seen by Bloomberg News.
Sites that display advertising for such content — including gambling, pornography, escort services, alcohol, dating apps and weapons — would also have to verify users’ ages.
Continues after advertising
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government plans to issue the decree by the end of February, according to an official familiar with the situation, who warned that the text is not yet finalized and that internal discussions continue. A spokesperson for the Lula administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The decree is part of the process of implementing a new law that will come into force in March and which seeks to protect Brazilian minors, requiring companies and platforms to restrict young people’s access to content that is illegal or considered harmful.
Brazilian law, however, would not be as strict as the Australian initiative that began to bar teenagers from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Even so, it determines that social media profiles for children under 16 must be registered in the name of a legal guardian.
