The EU country where the government is officially fighting against social networks. Child: "I spend 11 hours on my phone, 9 of which are on TikTok"
The Danish government and several organizations have joined forces against social media networks.
Their goal is to protect the younger generation from the hidden, harmful aspects of social media platforms.
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Magnus, an 8th-grade student: "I had a day where I spent 11 hours on my phone and about 9 of those hours were on TikTok".
Frederikke, an 8th-grade student: "The clips are not that long, and you can easily get distracted and watch another one, and so on".
These 8th-grade students, unlike many others their age, are aware of the dangerous aspects of social media.
Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark: "We are facing very, very large and powerful tech giants who, so far, have not chosen to take responsibility in their relationship with children".
The Danish Prime Minister refers to the algorithms used online, where children and young people have access to content that borders on indecency. Additionally, she speaks about the lack of clear measures taken to effectively verify users' ages.
Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen, Secretary-General of Save the Children organization: "There is a need for genuine age verification. Clear requirements are essential to ensure age-appropriate content. It is not normal for 12-year-olds to be exposed to content that even adults shouldn't view".
As a result, the government, the Danish Youth Council and the organizations Save the Children and Children's Rights have formed an alliance against social media platforms. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Digitalization will also play important roles.
Denmark wants to impose an age limit of 15 years for access to social networks
Christine Ravn Lund, President of the Danish Youth Council: "For a normal life for children and young people, we need to achieve a better balance between physical and digital life".
The aim is to establish clear limits for the content that reaches children and young people.
Miriam Michaelsen, President of the Media Council for Children and Youth: "We need to regulate the collection of data about children and young people, the retention mechanisms that capture their attention, and the harmful effects".
Reporter, TV 2 Denmark: "These are huge tech giants. Isn't it a bit naive to think you can make such a big difference?".
Rasmus Kjeldahl, Manager of the Danish Children's Rights Association: "I believe all great movements start from something small, and we are not that small. We have the Danish government with us. We have an upcoming EU presidency".
Last month, the Danish Prime Minister launched an initiative for the European Union to impose an age limit of 15 years for social media usage, instead of the current age of 13.
