Finland’s Minister of Social Security Karolina Partanen has advocated for the introduction of age restrictions on the use of social media. She wants the relevant restrictions to come into effect during the current government term. This was reported by Yle.
According to Partanen, children need to be better protected from the negative impact of social networks.
The minister is particularly concerned about the increase in sexual crimes against children. She noted that, according to police reports, their number significantly increased during the summer, and more and more of these crimes are occurring specifically on social media.
Partanen emphasized that this situation worries her not only as a minister but also as a mother. Previously, she worked as a legal assistant and helped children in various criminal proceedings.
In her opinion, restricting social media use could provide additional support for parents. In particular, it would give them the opportunity to use established rules as a basis for conversations with children about social media use.
At the same time, the minister acknowledged that this is a large-scale reform, so its implementation may take a long time. According to her, the issue is unlikely to be fully resolved during the current government term.
Partanen expressed hope that during the next government term, the authorities will be able to implement the reform and introduce the relevant restrictions.
