After France and Australia, Portugal passes bill restricting social media access for children

Following in the footsteps of Australia and France, which recently banned or restricted children's social media access, Portugal's parliament on Thursday approved a bill requiring explicit parental consent for children aged 13 to 16 to access social media.

The anti-social media legislation was cleared in the first reading, an extensive legislative move in Europe to impose such restrictions.

Social media restrictions to protect children

Social Democratic Party (PSD) officials who authored the draft claim that a law is needed to protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content and predatory individuals online.

Besides mandating social media restrictions, the bill underlines that over the past two decades, social media has assumed roles long held by families and schools without regulation.

Age restrictions for social media use in Portugal

Under this bill, a public system known as Digital Mobile Key (DMK) will be used by parents to consent, helping in the enforcement of the existing ban for children under the age of 13 to access digital social media, video- and image-sharing platforms, or online betting sites.

It was also reported that tech providers will be required to implement an age verification system compatible with the DMK.

The bill was approved by 148-69 votes with 13 abstentions, but it can still be modified before the final vote. It says "multinational digital platforms" have affected children's cognitive and emotional development, particularly with early or excessive exposure.

"We have to protect our children…we don't intend to prohibit for the sake of prohibiting, we intend to create a norm to give more power to parents and families, to accompany and control," PSD lawmaker Paulo Marcelo said ahead of the vote.

The Portuguese bill coincides with the growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks associated with children's excessive use of such platforms.