Junior coalition party Hlas-SD is proposing a ban on social media for children under 16, while a so-called protected mode should be set by default for young people aged between 16 and 18, according to a proposal submitted for inter-departmental review by the party.
According to them, the proposed legislation is primarily aimed at protecting children and youth in the online space.
"If platforms are entering the daily lives of even the most vulnerable children, who aren't yet capable of making independent decisions and evaluating what's good for them and what isn't, then someone must bear responsibility for all of this," said Hlas-SD leader Matus Sutaj Estok, adding that "platforms can't simply pretend that this is just some free economic market".
"And if they treat children like an adult user, we must set very clear rules," he explained.
Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Hlas-SD) specified that children under 16 won't be allowed to have their own accounts created on major digital platforms, except for those intended for communication. "This doesn't apply to when you send an email or if it's a simple chat group between one person and another," he said.
For those aged 16-18, a default protected mode will be enabled, with a private profile, location turned-off, no automatic adding to groups and specific protection against strangers, said Drucker, noting that "this will have to be arranged by major online platforms".
He added that technical solutions are available to prevent platforms from obtaining any personal data or profiling children, specifying that they would only receive information on whether the child meets the required age.
According to Drucker, the proposal is the result of joint efforts by the education, interior, health and labour ministries, which have worked on it for almost six months. It's based on European legislation and has been consulted with other member states.
The legislation could be presented at a government session in August and become effective as of January next year. Drucker also announced the preparation of legislation for an integrated system to protect children from the risk of radicalisation or mobilisation towards violence.
Opposition's KDH party noted that it had already submitted its own legislative proposal in Parliament aimed at protecting children from social media. According to KDH, Hlas-SD is attempting to embrace an issue it ignored for years. The party argued that child protection must not become another government marketing theme and said Hlas-SD could demonstrate its commitment immediately through parliamentary voting.
Under KDH's proposal, submitted for the next parliamentary session, children under 16 would be prohibited from having social media accounts. The proposal also addresses the responsibility of digital platforms, safer settings for underage users, restrictions on addictive platform features, a ban on targeted advertising directed at children, and protection of minors' digital footprints.
The Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization (MIRRI) said in a statement that it was surprised by Hlas-SD's approach. As the ministry responsible for Slovakia's digitalisation and informatization agenda, it has been preparing legislation on child protection in the virtual environment for more than six months. According to the ministry, the work has involved consultations with social media companies, legal experts, psychologists, paediatricians and other relevant stakeholders.
"Representatives of all relevant ministries regularly attended working meetings and round-table discussions over recent months. Not once did they indicate that they were simultaneously preparing their own legislative proposal. Had they done so, it would have been possible to hold an open expert discussion and coordinate the state's approach in such a sensitive area," MIRRI's press department declared.
The ministry described it as unusual to learn about parallel legislative initiatives through public channels after months of joint discussions. It argued that Slovakia does not need several laws pursuing the same objective and competing for attention. According to the ministry, duplicative legislation will not protect children. Cooperation and expert debate should prevail in matters concerning their protection. MIRRI said it will comment on the proposal during the inter-ministerial consultation process.
Source: TASR
