Sweden’s health minister has urged the EU to push ahead with social media restrictions for kids while insisting it be treated as a pressing matter.
“We’re losing an entire generation to endless scrolling and harmful content, and we need to do something about it,” Minister Jakob Forssmed told POLITICO, adding that social media use among youth is the “most pressing health issue there is.”
His comments follow those of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who said Europe could adopt a similar approach to Australia. The country is set to ban social media for all users under 16.
In her State of the Union address in Strasbourg earlier this week, she pledged to commission a panel of experts to study the impact of the Australian measure and provide recommendations on how Europe should proceed.
Forssmed said Europe should move quickly, warning: “We don’t have the time. We need to move forward fast.”
Sweden has already compiled research that demonstrates the impact on young people, he said, and the results are clear.
“This is a risk for mental health issues. We see it not least when it comes to eating disorders and harmful self-image,” he added.
Health authorities in Sweden issued guidelines last year, stating that children under the age of two should not be exposed to any screens and teenagers should have no more than three hours of screen time per day. The government also announced an inquiry into social media use and age restrictions.
In Denmark, Minister for Digital Affairs Caroline Stage Olsen also said she would support stronger measures from Brussels and would make it one of the “main priorities” for the Danish presidency of the Council of the EU.
“I see three steps on the EU level: mandatory legal requirement for age verification, a ban on harmful and addictive practices for minors and stronger enforcement,” she told POLITICO.
Denmark has imposed a ban on smartphones in schools since February, following France’s lead in 2018. A similar ban in Belgium came into effect this month.
Five EU countries — Denmark, Greece, France, Italy and Spain — are testing a European Commission age verification app, a new system designed to protect children online.
Last year, Ireland’s Department of Health established an online health task force to examine the links between specific types of online activity and physical and mental health harms to children and young people.
It’s also developing a strategic public health response to these harms, which it will bring forward in its final report next month.
Von der Leyen suggested she would wait to decide on EU-wide measures until she had received analysis of the Australian policy. It’s unclear how long European experts will have to do that, given that it comes into force in Australia on Dec. 10, and she wants the panel’s recommendations by year’s end.
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