Sri Lanka moves to restrict social media access for children under 16

The New Democratic Front Member of Parliament, President’s Counsel Faiszer Musthapha has presented a Private Member’s Bill aimed at restricting children’s access to social media platforms.

The proposed legislation, titled the Social Media Minimum Age Bill, seeks to prohibit individuals under the age of 16 from accessing social media services.

The bill is intended to introduce a minimum age requirement for social media use, with the objective of enhancing online safety for children and addressing concerns surrounding their exposure to harmful digital content.

If enacted, the legislation would establish a legal framework governing the minimum age for social media access in Sri Lanka, bringing the country in line with a number of nations that have introduced or are considering similar restrictions in recent months.

According to experts, children will be given back their childhoods thanks to the ban on social media platforms, which will result in less time for scrolling and more time for play.

The British Government recently announced it plans to use the same model for a social media ban as Australia. This would capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material, alongside algorithms. The ban will therefore include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.

Although the British government has indicated it does not intend to ban messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal.

In a move to protect children online and address the scale of the challenge, the British Government will also go further than a blanket ban on social media with world-leading blocks on harmful functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication with children for under-16s.