DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan /Culture & Society

Kazakhstan Considers Banning Social Media for Children Under 16

From 24.kg · () Russian

Translated from Russian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Kazakhstan is considering a ban on social media registration for children under 16 through a bill submitted to parliament.
  • President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has also urged for enhanced content filtering and the wider use of special SIM cards for children.
  • The proposed measures aim to protect minors from the growing influence of digital platforms and align with similar actions taken by other leading nations.

Kazakhstan is moving to restrict children's access to social media, with a government-backed bill proposing to ban registration for individuals under the age of 16.

Social networks, digital platforms, AI, and aggressive marketing are increasingly influencing children, so the law protecting children from harmful information, in effect since 2018, needs to be reviewed.

— Kassym-Jomart TokayevPresident of Kazakhstan, explaining the rationale behind the proposed social media ban for minors.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the legislative initiative, emphasizing the need to protect minors from the pervasive influence of social networks, digital platforms, AI, and aggressive marketing. He stated that the current law, in place since 2018, requires revision to shift from addressing consequences to preventing psychological harm to children.

Tokayev also directed the cabinet to intensify content filtering for minors and expand the use of dedicated child-friendly SIM cards. He argued that relying solely on parental responsibility is insufficient and that these measures are necessary to provide children with "informational immunity."

It is time for us to move from eliminating consequences to preventing threats to children's psychological state, otherwise, it could negatively affect stability in society.

— Kassym-Jomart TokayevPresident of Kazakhstan, emphasizing the proactive approach needed to safeguard children's mental health.

The president cited similar actions taken by "many advanced countries" as justification for Kazakhstan's proposed restrictions. He believes that implementing such safeguards is crucial for maintaining societal stability by preventing negative impacts on children's psychological well-being.

The government should take measures to filter content in order to protect children. Relying solely on parental responsibility is not feasible for a number of known and quite objective reasons.

— Kassym-Jomart TokayevPresident of Kazakhstan, outlining the need for government intervention and specialized SIM cards.

Examples of similar restrictions include Australia's blocking of access to most social media for those under 16 in December 2025, and the UK's upcoming ban on platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X for individuals under 16.

Therefore, I instruct to scale up the implementation of mandatory children's SIM cards, which can provide informational immunity.

— Kassym-Jomart TokayevPresident of Kazakhstan, detailing a specific technological measure to enhance child online protection.
About this summary

Originally published by 24.kg in Russian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog