The Norwegian government has been keen to restrict social media access to those under age 16, but that’s proving more difficult than expected. A new law proposal has reportedly been watered down, and the tech companies may not face fines after all if they fail to make sure all of their social media customers are 16 or older.
The government now worries that fines wouldn’t be allowed under trade regulations with the European Union, so now the new law merely encourages companies offering social media to set an age limit on use. Most top politicians still want to protect youngsters from predators ready to exploit them on social media, and keep them from being hooked on it.
Newspaper Klassekampen editorialized this week that tech companies including Meta, Tiktok and Google should be held responsible for what kind of content they allow: “They speculate … and allows swindlers and criminals to prey on children,” editorialized Klassekampen, “and that’s what we need to do something about.” It urged much stricter regulation of social media content.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
