Barbara Nowacka on children's safety online. The government gives an ultimatum to the giants
Poland wants to introduce a law banning the use of social media by children under 15. The platforms themselves are to be responsible for enforcing the regulations – if they do not block access to younger users, they will have to face financial penalties.
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The outline of the project is to be presented by the ruling Civic Coalition, and — according to the announcements – new regulations could enter into force at the beginning of 2027.
Minister of Education Barbara Nowacka emphasizes that the main reason for the changes is the condition of young people.
“We see the state of mental health of children and adolescents, we see a decline in their intellectual competences” – she said in an interview with Bloomberg.
The amount of penalties for technology companies has not yet been finally determined.
Read also: Social media only for 15+ people throughout the EU. France persuades Warsaw
Social media ban for children? “Preventive actions are needed”
According to the minister, the state must react because – in his opinion – platforms do not enforce their own rules and do not effectively check the age of users.
“We need to take preventive measures, and not wonder how this or that country will look at it.” – she pointed out.
“Honestly, who owns a given platform is absolutely secondary. It is in the interest of every country to protect children,” she added.
Similar solutions are already being considered or announced by, among others, Denmark, France, Spain, Great Britain, and, earlier, Australia.
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The governments of these countries increasingly indicate that social media can be addictive and harmful to young users.
Possible dispute with tech giants
The new regulations could lead to tensions with the largest US technology companies – such as Meta and X – which have previously criticized similar regulations in other countries.
The matter also has a political dimension, because Poland is a key US ally in NATO and hosts American troops. Additionally, US companies have recently opposed the idea of introducing a digital tax.
Despite this, the government emphasizes that the project is not aimed at any country or specific company. According to the authors of the bill, the aim of the bill is primarily to protect the youngest Internet users and force platforms to actually control their age.
