Vietnam proposes not to banish children from social media, but to mute them

Vietnam is preparing what may be the most original version of the restrictions on children's use of social media that are gaining popularity around the world. Rather than showing minors the door entirely, the country proposes to let them stay inside — but with the microphone switched off.

Under a draft decree from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (reported on Friday by the Reuters news agency), users under 16 would keep their accounts but lose the ability to publish posts, leave comments and add reactions. A child's account would have to be registered to a parent, who would be responsible for what the minor watches and for how long. The platforms themselves would be required to deploy technical means to identify children among their users and restrict them to age-appropriate content.

Deputy Culture Minister Phan Tam stressed that the aim is not to ban or excessively restrict children's access to social media, but to provide them with a safe environment. The document has not yet been finalized and may be revised. In parallel, Vietnam is considering restrictions on games: no more than 60 minutes a day per game for users under 16, under the same parental registration scheme.

A growing list

Vietnam's approach is inventive, but the country is far from alone. Over the past few months, dozens of states have announced plans to restrict children's and teenagers' access to social media. The pioneer, in late 2025, was Australia, which banned social media for anyone under 16: the restrictions cover Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and others, while WhatsApp and YouTube Kids were left off the list. Violators face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars.

The rest followed Australia's lead. On July 21, France passed a law banning social media for anyone under 15 — it could take effect as early as September 1 and would at the same time extend the ban to phones in secondary schools. Denmark is preparing a threshold of 15, Austria one of 14. Canada, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom have all announced their own plans. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is promising a ban for children under 16 by the spring of 2027, and separately intends to restrict AI chatbots that play the role of “romantic companions.”

Doubts

There is no consensus, however. Critics, including Amnesty Tech, call such bans ineffective and out of touch with the real lives of the younger generation. Mandatory age verification is a particular concern: it threatens to result in excessive data collection and state intrusion into private life. Even so, most countries are pushing their bills forward despite the objections.

Source: TechCrunch