After Australia, Sweden plans to ‘ban’ social media usage for teens: All the details

Social media

Earlier in November, Australia became the first country to implement a nationwide ban on social media platforms for under-16 children. That ban was imposed to safeguard children and teenagers from the potential harms of excessive social media usage. Now, according to a new report by Reuters, ministers in the Swedish government are planning to introduce similar restrictions if major social media platforms fail to prevent gangs from recruiting young teenagers for violent crimes.

Swedish ministers planning to impose age restrictions on social media

In a statement to Reuters, Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said they would examine measures taken by other countries and see what they can do for their country. Strommer’s statement came after he met with other Nordic justice ministers and social media companies in Copenhagen after teenagers who are as young as 11 years of age committed violent acts such as bombings and murders in the Nordic countries.

Strommer has also suggested that representatives from TikTok, Meta, Google, and Snapchat have promised to do "everything in their power" to tackle this issue. Local police data from Sweden revealed that 93 under-15 kids had been connected to planning murders in the first seven months of 2024. Therefore, Strommer has suggested that "it's a very serious situation."

Swedish Education Minister Johan Pehrson also said he was watching developments in Australia after a social media ban was imposed there recently. He added, "It's not the first step but it's not ruled out. We see that children are stuck in this dark sludge, throwing away their lives," suggesting that the government would do everything necessary to stop children spending too much time on social media.