KDH Proposes New Law on Protection of Minors on Social Media

The Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) in Slovakia has put forth a significant legislative proposal aimed at safeguarding minors in the digital realm: a new law concerning the protection of children on social media platforms. Recognizing that social media has evolved beyond simple communication tools into commercial entities designed to maximize user engagement, the KDH seeks to establish clear rules for children and young people online. Their core proposal is to prohibit individuals under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts, a move intended to shield them from the inherent risks of these platforms.

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Social networks today are not just a place for communication. They are commercial platforms designed to keep a child on them for as long as possible. A child who cannot buy alcohol today can often enter a space without real control where predators can approach them, where algorithms shape them, and where their attention is monetized. This is not normal. That's why we are coming up with clear rules.

For adolescents between 16 and 18 years old, the KDH suggests a modified approach. While allowing them to maintain accounts, the proposed law mandates that social media platforms implement enhanced safety features. These would include limiting addictive elements, banning targeted advertising directed at minors, and establishing effective mechanisms for reporting issues such as cyberbullying, grooming, and other risky content. KDH emphasizes that this is not an outright ban on internet use but a specific regulation targeting the unique functionalities of social media, such as profiling, recommendation algorithms, social pressure, and the monetization of user attention.

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Parents must not be left alone against global platforms and their algorithms. School and family must raise the child, but the rules must also apply to those who create the digital environment and profit from it. Platforms, not children and parents, must bear the responsibility.

Ján Horecký, the KDH vice-chairman and former Minister of Education, stressed that the party's initiative addresses not only issues like cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, and children's mental health problems but also the need for children to be prepared for the digital world in a meaningful, safe, and age-appropriate manner. He asserted that parents should not be left to combat global platforms and their algorithms alone, arguing that schools and families have a primary role in upbringing, but the rules must also extend to the creators and beneficiaries of the digital environment. Horecký firmly placed the responsibility on the platforms themselves, not on children or their parents.

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A child does not yet have the same ability for self-regulation as an adult. That is precisely why they are much more vulnerable to the addictive mechanisms of social networks, endless scrolling, constant notifications, and comparing themselves to others. What an adult can evaluate with distance, a child can experience as pressure, anxiety, or a feeling of failure.

KDH MP Peter Stachura further elaborated on the developmental vulnerability of children's brains, noting their limited capacity for self-regulation compared to adults. This makes them particularly susceptible to the addictive mechanisms of social media, such as endless scrolling, constant notifications, and social comparison. Stachura warned that excessive and uncontrolled social media use can contribute to sleep disorders, impaired concentration, irritability, anxiety, low self-esteem, social isolation, and addictive behaviors. He framed this issue as a matter of public health, arguing that the constant exposure to environments based on instant gratification, comparison, and pressure has tangible consequences on children's attention, sleep, emotional well-being, and self-perception. The KDH's proposal seeks to create a more responsible digital ecosystem for Slovakia's youth.

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This is, besides family policy, also a public health issue. If a child spends hours a day in an environment that relies on instant reward, comparison, pressure, and constant disturbance, it has consequences. We see them in attention, in sleep, in emotions, and in how children perceive themselves.