Vietnam's Unconventional Approach to Social Media for Kids

The Vietnamese government is considering a novel approach to restricting social media access for children under 16. Instead of banning them entirely, the country wants to let them stay logged in – just muted. Users under 16 would keep their social media accounts, but lose the ability to post, comment, or react to content. This would require social media accounts for children under 16 to be registered under a parent, who would then be responsible for monitoring the content the child accesses and their time spent on the platforms. The platforms themselves would be required to deploy technical measures to identify which of their users are children and restrict them to age-appropriate content.

A Growing Trend

This isn't the first country to impose restrictions on social media for children. Australia became the first to implement such measures at the end of last year, setting a precedent that other countries are closely watching. France more recently announced a similar measure, banning access to social media for anyone under 15. Other countries, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, and Greece, have also announced plans to restrict social media access for children and teens.

Concerns Over Privacy and Effectiveness

Critics, including Amnesty Tech, have expressed concerns over invasive age verification and excessive government intervention. They also argue that such bans are ineffective and ignore the realities of younger generations. Despite these concerns, many nations are moving ahead with proposed legislation.

Countries Imposing Social Media Restrictions on Children

• Australia: Banned social media for children under 16 in December 2025, with penalties of up to $49.5 million AUD ($34.4 million USD) for non-compliance.

• Austria: Plans to ban social media for children up to the age of 14, with draft legislation expected to be finalized by June.

• Canada: Introduced a digital safety bill in early June that would ban social media for children under 16, with an exemption for platforms that demonstrate policies to protect young users.

• Denmark: Set to ban social media platforms for children under 15, with the government's plans expected to become law as soon as mid-2026.

• France: Banned access to social media for anyone under 15, with the law expected to take effect as soon as September 1.

• Greece: Plans to ban access to social media for children under 15 starting January 2027, citing concerns over rising anxiety and sleep problems among children.

• Indonesia: Banned children under the age of 16 from using social media and other popular online platforms, starting with platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.

• Malaysia: Plans to ban social media for children under 16, with the country expected to implement the ban this year.

• Poland: Drafting new legislation that would ban children under 15 from using social media, with Bloomberg reporting on the development in February.

• Slovenia: Drafting legislation to prohibit children under 15 from accessing social media, with the government citing platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.

• Spain: Plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16, with the ban still requiring parliamentary approval.

• Turkey: Passed a bill to restrict social media access for children under 15, with the Turkish president expected to accept the bill for it to pass into law.

• U.K.: Announced plans to impose a ban on social media use for children under 16 years of age, with the ban expected to apply to a range of social media platforms.