One more social media ban for teenagers is in the making: next is Slovenia
Slovenia is preparing draft legislation that will ban access to social media for minors under 15, Deputy Prime Minister Matej Arcon told a news conference on Thursday.
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Slovenia is preparing draft legislation that will ban access to social media for minors under 15, Deputy Prime Minister Matej Arcon told a news conference on Thursday.
Arcon said the Education Ministry had initiated the move, based on the experience of other countries, and would include professionals in drafting the law that aims to protect children and adolescents.
"This has been a hot topic around the world and in Europe in recent weeks and months, and with this, we as a government are showing that we care about our children," Arcon said after the government session.
He said the government wants to regulate social networks where content is shared, mentioning TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, among others.
Several countries have already taken steps to block social media for kids, citing concerns over mental health, privacy, online safety, and addictive platform design.
Italy, Poland, Greece, Austria, Britain, France, and Spain have debated similar measures. India might become the second largest social media market to join the social media ban for kids.
Just today, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez claimed the country will not be swayed by tech oligarchs on the social media ban.
"Democracy will obviously not be swayed by the tech oligarchs of the algorithm," Sanchez told an event in Madrid. "Just yesterday they addressed millions of people via their platforms to spread lies."
Durov said in a Telegram message that Spain's proposed legislation would force social media platforms to gather data on all users and allow governments to control what users see.
The day before, Musk posted on his X profile that Sanchez was "a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain".
The pioneer of this approach was Australia, which was the first country in the world to introduce a nationwide minimum age for social media use. It has since become a reference point for other governments that are seeking to implement similar restrictions.
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