One measure that seems excessive or unenforceable to many, the ban on social media for teenagers, is being seriously considered by many governments.
The many hours teenagers spend in front of screens have been a concern for parents and educators for years, especially if they bring visible consequences to children's psychology and behavior. But recently, governments around the world have decided to take measures to keep teenagers online less time.
A few weeks ago, Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the Greek government's decision to ban social media for children under 15. The ban is scheduled to take effect on January 1.
Greek families experience the problem at home and the government seems to want to give a legislative answer. In the same vein, governments in other parts of the world seem to be moving, not only in the West.
In Malaysia, user age verification begins
Malaysia is the latest country to impose a ban on creating social media accounts for children under 16, implementing the Child Protection Code under the 2025 Internet Safety Law.
Social media platforms in the country, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, with at least 8 million users, must now verify user age before allowing account registration. Platforms that fail to comply face fines of up to 10 million ringgit (about €2.2 million), although parents whose children bypass the rules will not be penalized.
How Malaysia is making the transition to the age of social media bans
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said age verification for existing users will be implemented during a six-month grace period, while underage users will be given one month to download their data before restrictions take effect.
Indonesia implemented a similar ban in late March, making it the first Southeast Asian country to do so, changing the lives of about 70 million children and their parents.
In the Maldives, President Mohamed Muizzu announced on Sunday that his government will restrict access for children under 16 to certain social media platforms, with full implementation within a year. He cited child sexual exploitation, cyberbullying and content contrary to Islamic values as key issues.
Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications set up an expert group on the matter, which proposed mandatory age-based content filtering and requiring platforms to disclose risks. However, the experts avoided making a request for a general ban.
"Platforms have not proven they are safe for children"
In the United Kingdom, London Mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to support a ban on social media for teenagers under 16, following the trend that is becoming increasingly strong within the Labour Party.
"Until they prove their platforms are safe for children, the ban remains the only way to address the risks we see today," Khan said.
Britain: 9/10 parents who participated in the consultation are in favor of the ban
The public consultation opened by the government in Britain was completed last week. After receiving over 100,000 responses, it was found that 90% of the approximately 40,000 parents who responded support the ban. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the ban "is definitely on the table."
In North Carolina, House Bill 301 — which would ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental consent for children 14 and 15 — advanced to a Senate committee in late April after passing the House with 106 votes in favor and 6 against.
The counterargument highlights the responsibility of the platforms themselves
In the public debate on the issue, voices are also participating that attempt a different, though not opposing, approach. Scotland's Commissioner for Children, Nicola Killean, warned that a ban "does not meaningfully address fundamental issues such as exploitative algorithms and business models that promote harmful content," cautioning that a ban could push children towards less "regulated" corners of the internet and shift responsibility from platforms to children.
The UN human rights office intervened last week, warning that banning children's access to social media "is not a substitute for the need to make platforms safe in the first place," calling for safety to be built into platform design.
