Vietnam Introduces Unique Regulations for Children's Social Media Use

Globally, the trend of restricting minors' access to social media is growing stronger. In particular, the Vietnamese government has proposed a completely new and unique approach to protect the younger generation from the negative impacts of the internet. According to Reuters, a new bill developed by the country's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism aims to restrict active engagement on social platforms for users under the age of 16. Techcrunch.com reports this.

The uniqueness of the model proposed by Vietnam is that it does not completely ban children from the platforms. Instead, users under 16 can have accounts, but are prohibited from posting, commenting, or reacting (liking) to content. In other words, children will remain in a spectator-only status, which reduces their digital footprint on social networks and minimizes communication risks.

Parental Control and Technical Restrictions

According to the new rules, accounts for children under 16 must be registered using their parents' data. Parents will be held responsible for monitoring how much time their children spend online and what content they view. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, in turn, are required to implement technical tools to verify user ages and display only age-appropriate content.

Phan Tam, Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Culture, emphasized that the government's goal is not to restrict children's right to information, but to create a safe and age-appropriate digital environment for them. The draft also outlines restrictions for online games: those under 16 will not be able to spend more than 60 minutes a day on a single game.

Global Wave of Bans

Vietnam is not a pioneer in this regard. Late last year, Australia became the first country in the world to completely ban social media for children under 16. Under Australian law, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, and YouTube must keep children off their services, or face fines of up to 34.4 million AUD.

France has also joined the ranks of countries considering similar strict measures. The adoption of such laws is driven by issues such as cyberbullying on social media, internet addiction, mental health problems, and the risk of youth falling victim to various criminals.

However, such restrictions are not without criticism. Organizations like Amnesty Tech argue that personal data privacy may be violated during age verification processes and that such bans are ineffective, failing to reflect the realities of modern life. Nevertheless, many nations prioritize youth protection.