Poland is among the latest countries to jump on the social media ban wagon in Europe. Lithuania does, too.

Poland is planning to introduce new legislation to ban social media for children under 15. X, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media giants will be responsible for verifying users' ages.

"We see the mental health of children and young people, we see a decline in their intellectual competence," said Education Minister Barbara Nowacka via Bloomberg.

According to her, it is still unclear how large a fine social media companies will face if they fail to comply with the new legislation.

According to her, the law could take effect by early 2027.

So far, Poland has not applied any legally binding age restrictions to those wanting to join social media platforms. The only social media age limits are somewhat voluntary and are set by the platforms themselves.

“What currently exists is a sham," said Nowacka, emphasizing that the country can no longer pretend the problem doesn’t exist, as even young children can easily access content that isn't appropriate for their age.

The education minister also pointed out that Polish parents are increasingly expecting the government to provide support on the matter, as the flow of information kids now consume is intense and uncontrollable. Thus, legislation would have a greater chance of adding some control, rather than an outright ban.

"This is meant to be protection, not a ban for the sake of ban," Nowacka said.

Why the US might not be happy with Poland’s move against social media giants

Poland’s attempt to tame social media giants, which are mostly American, may raise concerns at the White House and among global tech leaders.

The latter, such as Reddit, have already been vocal about the new legislation when it was first introduced in Australia and even filed a lawsuit in the country's highest court seeking to overturn the social media ban.

Now that Poland joins other countries, such as Greece, the UK, Denmark, and Slovenia, in attempting to do what Australia did, it might raise eyebrows in the Trump administration.

As per Bloomberg’s reporting, any decisions that trigger Washington can have lasting effects on diplomatic relationships.

Poland is a frontline member of NATO’s eastern flank, which hosts US troops. Therefore, any tensions between the countries might come at a high price, especially when there is already a precedent: earlier this month, US companies criticized Poland’s plan to tax digital services.

However, Nowacka claims not to see the social media ban in geopolitical terms.

“To be honest, who’s the owner of this or that platform is absolutely secondary,” said the minister.

Another NATO eastern flank country set to ban social media for teens

Lithuania’s conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats party is proposing a legislative amendment that would prohibit teens under 16 from using social media.

“Age-of-majority thresholds apply to dangerous activities such as tobacco, alcohol, or gambling. In the digital space, there must also be a clear boundary indicating when a person is considered a digital adult capable of taking responsibility for their actions,” said Daiva Ulbinaitė, the initiator of the amendments.

She highlighted that social media platforms would need to develop an “effective way” to verify users’ ages, “not just tick boxes.”

Those social media platforms that fail to comply with the new rules would face fines ranging from €500 to €1,500 for a first violation, and from €1,500 to €4,000 for repeat offenses. However, these sums are not final and may change depending on where the future discussions might lead.

At this stage, the proposed fines are in line with those set out in Lithuania’s Code of Administrative Offenses.

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