Lisbon, Nov. 24, 2025 (Lusa) - A year ago, a group of people launched a petition calling for a ban on social media use by children under 16 in Portugal, collected more than 12,000 signatures and submitted it to parliament, where it still remains "under consideration".
In December last year, a new petition was launched calling for the virtual world to be regulated and for children under the age of 16 to be banned from accessing social media. The idea was to create "a safer and healthier environment for the growth and development" of young people, and within a few months, the idea had gained thousands of supporters. In April, it reached the parliament.
The petitioners are calling for a model similar to "the one being implemented in Australia", a country that in December is set to go down in history as the first in the world to ban the use of social media by children under 16 years old.
The measure is among the most comprehensive ever taken by an Australian government to address concerns about social media use among teenagers and children. The idea is that platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Reddit, X, Instagram and Snapchat will be subject to fines of up to €28 million (A$50 million) if there are systemic failures in preventing minors from having accounts.
A study commissioned by the Australian government revealed that 96% of children aged 10 to 15 years old use social media and that seven out of 10 had already been exposed to harmful content or behaviour, which can promote eating disorders and even suicide. In addition, one in seven children surveyed reported being harassed by adults or older children, and more than half said they had experienced cyberbullying.
"Algorithms create an environment of intense social comparison, and teenagers are often exposed to images and stories that portray seemingly perfect lives, which can lead to feelings of social inadequacy and low self-esteem," warns the petition, which is being reviewed by the Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, according to the parliament website.
The problem has been gaining increasing prominence, and the European Parliament is also set to debate a report on Wednesday calling for the acceleration of the implementation of European Union (EU) laws on Digital Services and Artificial Intelligence, closing legal loopholes and ensuring that services become safer for minors. MEPs will vote on Wednesday on the report, which also sets 16 years of age as the minimum age for accessing social networks.
The idea corroborates the Portuguese petition, which argues in its text that, just as it is prohibited to sell alcohol and tobacco to children in the "real world", access to social networks should also be restricted.
The petitioners warn that excessive use of social media is "associated with an increase in mental illness in adolescents and pre-adolescents, such as anxiety and depression," and accuse social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok of not having mechanisms in place to enforce the existing ban on use by children under 13 years old.
Concerns about the effects of social media use have led the ministry of education to ban the use of smartphones in schools up to Year 6 (10-11 year-olds), with the possibility of extending this ban to older children currently under consideration.
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