According to Mashable, Denmark announced plans Friday to ban social media access for users under 15, though the measure won’t take effect immediately. The country reportedly plans to roll out an official age-verification app as part of enforcement and would allow parents to grant access to children as young as 13 following an assessment process. This puts Denmark in line with Australia, which became the first nation to implement a similar ban set to take effect this December. Australia’s ban would hit platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Reddit with fines up to $50 million AUD ($33 million USD) for non-compliance. In the U.S., several states have enacted or proposed legislation limiting social media use among minors, though no nationwide restriction exists.
The enforcement nightmare
Here’s the thing about these social media bans – enforcement is where everything falls apart. Denmark’s plan for an “official age-verification app” sounds great on paper, but we’ve seen this movie before. Remember when everyone was going to solve online age verification? It’s been a mess. Basically, you’re asking either platforms to become identity verification experts or parents to navigate yet another government app. And let’s be honest – how many teenagers are going to find workarounds? They always do.
This is becoming a global trend
Denmark isn’t operating in a vacuum here. Australia’s moving forward with their ban starting in December, and multiple U.S. states are testing various approaches. Nebraska requires parental approval for anyone under 18 to open accounts, while other states have different age thresholds. But here’s what’s interesting – many of these laws are getting challenged in court over First Amendment concerns. So we’re likely looking at years of legal battles before any of this becomes settled law. The fundamental question remains: who should be responsible for verifying ages – platforms, parents, or governments?
How will tech companies react?
I’m genuinely curious how Meta, TikTok, and the other giants will respond to this. On one hand, they’ve been investing in their own age verification tools and parental controls. But being forced to comply with country-specific age bans? That’s a whole different level of complexity. We’re talking about potentially blocking entire age demographics from accessing services that have become fundamental to modern social life. And let’s not forget the business implications – losing millions of young users isn’t exactly great for growth metrics.
The parental consent loophole
What strikes me as particularly messy is Denmark’s plan to let parents grant access to 13-year-olds after “an assessment process.” What does that even mean? Is it a questionnaire? An interview? And who’s qualified to assess whether a 13-year-old should have social media access? This feels like it could become either a rubber-stamp process that defeats the purpose, or an overly bureaucratic nightmare that frustrates everyone. Either way, it creates this weird situation where the government is essentially telling parents how to parent.
