The Government of an EU and NATO Country Discusses a Ban on Social Media for Teenagers 0 11

A clear majority of the country's residents – 62% – support a ban on social media for children under 15 years old. This data was obtained from a survey by the media group Uutissuomalainen. Nineteen percent of respondents opposed the ban, while the same number were unsure of their answer.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Minister of Social Affairs Sanni Gran-Laasonen previously stated that they support restricting access to social media for children under 15 years old. Orpo announced that he would initiate a study on introducing an age restriction.

Children's Ombudsman Elina Pekkarinen noted that the survey results indicate Finns' concerns about the impact of social media on children and teenagers.

"Public opinion is currently such that the use of social media among children and youth should be limited," Pekkarinen said in an interview with Uutissuomalainen.

The survey, conducted by Tietoykkönen, involved one thousand Finns. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.

At the end of 2025, Australia introduced rules requiring platforms to take measures to prevent access for teenagers under 16 years old, specifying a list of platforms subject to the restrictions. The list of platforms named by the Australian government includes Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Kick, and Twitch.

Companies have announced various approaches to age verification, including document requests and biometric methods.

According to a study commissioned by the Australian government, 96% of children aged 10–15 use social media, and seven out of ten have encountered distressing content.