Denmark's prime minister has admitted that if she had young children, she would rather them smoke than go on social media. Outgoing PM Mette Frederiksen made the bold statement while speaking about online safety.
The quick-witted leader joked: 'I'm still acting prime minister, so I won't say what I was going to say. If I was not acting prime minister, I would say: "If I had small kids today, I would rather have them smoking than allowing them to stay on their own on social media." But I am acting prime minister, so I will not say that.'
Pivoting to a more serious tone, Frederiksen said: 'There is something wrong with us because as grown-ups, as politicians, as representatives for kids, we still look [at] the old threats. But there is a new one, it's much more present.'
In October, Frederiksen's government said it would ban social media for children under 15, while those aged 13 and 14 could use it with parental permission. While announcing the new legislation, Frederiksen accused mobile phones and social networks of 'stealing our children's childhood.'
Her government isn't the only one in Europe to back a social media ban. Greece announced a similar under-15s ban from social media in April, which would come into effect from January 1, 2027. Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the ban would be put in place due to rising anxiety and sleep problems seen in children. In a message to young people, he said he was 'certain that many of the younger ones among you will be angry with me; had I been your age, I might have felt the same way.'
In France, the country's National Assembly approved legislation at the beginning of the year to ban under-15s from social media. On March 31, the law was passed by the Senate, but the bill is set to go back to the National Assembly for a final vote amid disagreements.
Here in the UK, the House of Lords has backed a social media ban for under-16s, with Peers passing an amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Over in Austria, the government announced in late March that it will ban anyone under the age of 14 from using social media, with the draft legislation set to be finalised by June.
Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez said in February that he was planning on introducing an under-16s social media ban. And in Norway, the government has launched a public consultation on whether or not to ban under-15s from social media.
