Finnish minister aims to introduce age limits on children's social media use

Finland's Minister of Social Affairs, Karoliina Partanen, who has held the post for only two months, has announced her intention to push for age restrictions on children's access to social media platforms.

In an interview with broadcaster Yle, the minister said the country needs to do a better job protecting children from the harm caused by social media use. She believes such a restriction could support parents by giving them a basis for family conversations at home about social media use.

Binding rules needed

Partanen said mandatory rules are needed to define age limits for different internet platforms. She acknowledged this is a fairly large-scale reform that is unlikely to progress far during the current government term.

The minister expressed hope that the reform could be carried out during the next government term, allowing specific age limits to be set for various social media platforms.