Countries around the world are considering teen social media bans – why experts warn it’s a ‘lazy’ fix
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"I think the argument for a ban is an admission of failure that we cannot regulate companies, so we can only restrict children," one expert told CNBC.
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Governments around the world are making efforts to crack down on teen social media use amid mounting evidence of potential harms, but critics argue blanket bans are an ineffective quick fix. Australia became the first country to enforce a sweeping social media ban for under-16s in December, requiring platforms like Meta's Instagram, ByteDance's TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube, Elon Musk's X, and Reddit to implement age verification measures or face penalties. Several European countries are now looking to follow Australia's lead, with the U.K. , Spain , France , and Austria drafting their own proposals. Although a national ban in the U.S. looks unlikely, state-level legislation is underway. watch now VIDEO 1:57 01:57 Tracking Europe's approach to social media bans for teenagers Europe Early Edition It comes after Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, faced two separate defeats in trials related to child safety and social media harms in March. A Santa Fe jury found Meta misled users about child safety on its apps. The next day, a Los Angeles jury ruled that Meta and YouTube designed platform features that contributed to a plaintiff's mental health harms. Meta's stock drops almost 8% as 2 court defeats add to Zuckerberg's recent woes These developments are set to "unleash a lot more legislation," Sonia Livingstone, social psychology professor and director of the London School of Economics' Digital Futures for Children center, told CNBC. However, Livingstone said a social media ban for teens is a slapdash solution from governments that have failed to properly police tech giants for years. "I think the argument for a ban is an admission of failure that we cannot regulate companies, so we can only restrict children," she said, explaining that the U.S. and Europe already have a lot of legislation in the books that isn't being enforced. "When are governments really going to enforce, raise the stakes on fines, ban the companies if necessary for not complyin...
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