Portugal approves restrictions on social media access for children

LISBON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Portugal's parliament on Thursday approved a bill, on its first reading, requiring explicit parental consent for children aged 13 to 16 to access social media, in one of the first concrete legislative moves in Europe to impose such restrictions.

Authors of the draft legislation from the ruling Social Democratic Party argue it is needed to protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content and predatory individuals.

A system known as Digital Mobile Key will be used by parents to give consent, also helping to enforce the existing ban for children under the age of 13 to access digital social media, video- and image-sharing platforms, or online betting sites.

The bill can still be modified before the final vote.

France's lower house last month backed legislation to ban children under 15 from social media amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks. Australia's world-first ban for under-16s on social media platforms including Facebook META.O, Snapchat SNAP.N, TikTok and YouTube GOOGL.O came into force in December.