Portugal’s parliament has preliminarily approved a bill that would restrict social media access for minors by requiring explicit parental consent for children aged 13 to 16 and continuing an outright ban for those under 13, moving the country toward being one of the first in Europe to legislate such limits amid concerns over online harms like cyberbullying and predatory behavior. The draft, backed by the ruling Social Democratic Party and passed in its first reading, calls for a public Digital Mobile Key system to verify age and consent and could require tech platforms to adopt compatible age-verification measures; it also faces potential revisions and opposition from political factions critical of expanded state and platform oversight.
Sources
https://www.theepochtimes.com/tech/portugal-approves-bill-imposing-restrictions-on-children-accessing-social-media-5985253
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/portugal-approves-restrictions-social-media-access-children-2026-02-12/
https://www.geo.tv/latest/650633-after-france-and-australia-portugal-passes-bill-restricting-social-media-access-for-children
Key Takeaways
• Portuguese lawmakers have moved to impose stricter legal requirements on youth social media use, aiming to curb exposure to online harms and restore parental control.
• The bill maintains an existing ban on under-13s accessing social platforms and adds a parental consent requirement for 13-to-16-year-olds, enforced through a state digital identity system.
• Tech companies may be mandated to build age-verification systems compatible with Portugal’s Digital Mobile Key, and the legislation could be amended before final passage.
In-Depth
Portugal’s move to constrain how children engage with social media marks a significant moment in the broader global debate over digital regulation, parental rights, and the role of government in protecting young people from perceived online dangers. On February 12, Portugal’s parliament approved, on its first reading, a bill that would continue to bar children under the age of 13 from free access to social networking platforms and add a new layer of control for those between 13 and 16 years old by requiring explicit parental consent before they can sign up for or use services like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. This legislation comes as policymakers in multiple countries scrutinize the impact of ubiquitous social media use among minors, driven in part by rising concerns over mental health, exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and the difficulty parents face in regulating screen time and interactions in digital environments.
Backers of the bill, including members of Portugal’s Social Democratic Party, frame it not as a punitive measure but as a necessary step to empower families and restore a degree of accountability in a space largely governed by multinational tech platforms that set their own age restrictions and content policies. The proposed system would rely on Portugal’s Digital Mobile Key (DMK), a government-sanctioned digital identification and authentication platform, to verify both the age of young users and the consent provided by their parents or guardians. Under the draft, social media companies would have to adapt their registration and verification processes to be compatible with the DMK, a requirement that could prove technically and operationally challenging and might attract opposition from industry groups that already argue global regulatory fragmentation complicates service delivery.
Critics, including some political factions within Portugal, have raised concerns about the expansion of state involvement in digital life, warning that such controls could slide toward over-reach or censorship if not carefully constrained. They argue that mandatory ID checks and consent systems could erode privacy or set precedents for broader surveillance. These objections echo a larger tension seen in debates abroad, where governments attempt to balance child safety with free expression and efficient service access. Meanwhile, supporters cite similar recent legislative efforts, such as France’s vote to raise the minimum age for unsupervised social media access and Australia’s ban on under-16s using major platforms without strict age verification, to justify their approach and signal a wave of policy experimentation in democracies concerned about the digital environment’s effects on youth.
As the Portuguese bill moves to committee and potential amendments, its final form and implementation timeline are still uncertain. Lawmakers and stakeholders will undoubtedly debate how to calibrate protections without stifling technological innovation or undermining individual liberties. Regardless of the outcome, the initiative underscores a broader shift toward more assertive regulatory frameworks governing how and when minors can participate in the online social sphere, and it may influence similar policy considerations across the European Union and beyond.