Cyprus is moving toward banning social media for teenagers under the age of 15, following a decision by the Council of Ministers.
Read also: Social media ban for minors under 15: What the Cabinet’s plan entails
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Speaking on the Alpha News program, Nikodimos Damianou, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy, clarified that the proposal is to set the age of 15 as the minimum age below which access to social media platforms will not be permitted.
“That is, platforms for online services that allow interaction, profile creation, and messaging—we’re commonly referring to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, platforms of this type, not the entire internet.”
He emphasizes that there is global and European evidence showing just how negatively exposure to these types of social media platforms affects our youth.
“For example, on average, our young Europeans spend about four to six hours a day in front of a screen. That is a huge portion of their time. Cyprus ranks first, with 98% of our young people actively using these social media platforms, while another Eurostat survey shows that our young people rank among the lowest in Europe in terms of how much effort they make to verify the information they receive.”
Mr. Damianou, in highlighting the scale of the problem, notes that a year ago, countries were not in favor of a ban, whereas now, 14–15 countries are on track to enact legislation.
“We may well be among the first countries to actually pass this legislation,” he states. He notes that before the bill is submitted, a public consultation will be held through “The Voice of the Citizen” to gather public input, and an impact assessment will also be conducted.
He notes that social media platforms will be explicitly included, pointing out that gaming platforms—such as Roblox, for example—are a “gray area,” which have strong elements of this type of social networking.
Mr. Damianou points out that this action plan will not protect children from all online dangers.
The intention is for the plan to be implemented through the digital citizen.
